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I was recently trying to make an open-ended enumeration of places in a construction that would require the use of a に particle. E.g.:

AやBに行こう

or even:

A[and the like]に行こう

Preferably using a stronger indicator of open-endedness, such as 等 (to me や only has a weak implication of other possibilities, whereas here I want to convey the idea of "places like A [or B]"). But then I realised that the combination of に and 等 did not sound quite right, and even if it was, I had no idea how it would go (Aに等? A等に?)...

Thus my question:

Can 等 (or a suitably similar word for "and the like") ever be used with a に/で construction? (not necessarily just locations... Tools or "means" as well: AやBで行こう)

Dave
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2 Answers2

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It is okay to say などに and などで, but they may sound slightly formal nowadays. A more casual way of saying it is using とか: とかに and とかで.

  • Thanks for the precision. Are you saying that 等に would sound *more* formal than just 等 in a sentence? – Dave Aug 01 '11 at 07:54
  • @Dave With or without `に`, `等` sounds **slightly** formal. If you read `等` as 'tou', it is even more formal. –  Aug 01 '11 at 12:42
  • OK. I see what you mean... In that case I am fine with the same level of formality as 等. – Dave Aug 02 '11 at 08:26
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A particle normally follows など.

を and に are marked as optional (my dictionary puts them in parenthesis).

For tools: フォークやスプーンなどで食べる人もいる。 "There are also people who eat it with things like forks and spoons."

For places: 夏休みはXやYなど(に)行きましょうか。"Shall we go to places like X or Y for the summer vacation?"

Interestingly, my dictionary says that if the particles precede など,　the sentence is given a derogatory meaning. (が, を and は cannot precede など)

箸でなど食べられない。　"We can't eat with the damned chopsticks."

Alternatively I think you can try:

For places: Xのような場所 "Places like X"

For tools: Xのような道具　"Tools like X"

And by extension: XのようなY "Y like X" for other categories of things you might think of.

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    `ホーク` should be `フォーク`. You are not making the necessary discinction between `A, etc.` (includes A) and `things like A` (usually does not include A). –  Jul 31 '11 at 16:32