To: List Nouns and Say Who You Act With

と can join nouns into a list or mark a companion in an action. 本とノート names two items; 友だちと行く says who goes with someone. These are different jobs of the same particle. This lesson separates them from quotation と and conditional と.

Formation and use

Between nouns, と normally gives an explicit list: パンと牛乳を買います. The particle after the last noun, here を, applies to the whole list. Do not use と alone to connect full verb sentences.

After a person, と marks a companion or interaction partner: 友だちと映画を見ます. 私と田中さんが行きます instead lists the two subjects. Read the full phrase to see the role.

Comparisons and common errors

A list with や presents examples, whereas と commonly names the listed members more completely. Do not treat that as a claim that the people did nothing else all day. The scope is the local list.

一人で行きます means going alone. A companion is not a tool, so 友だちで行きます does not express the intended “go with a friend” in the basic pattern.

Practise with explanations

Try the 10 questions below, or open the practice set. Check each answer or the whole set, read the explanation, and retry mistakes. First-attempt results are kept separately on this device.

Connected lessons

• Ya and Nado: Give Examples in a Noun List
• Dare, Donata, and Dare No: Ask Who and Whose
• To Iu: Quote Speech and Say What Something Is Called