what is the proper way to use 一冊?

Question

For example when I say

彼は本を一冊持っています

vs

彼は一冊の本を持っています

Which is more natural?. the first one seems more correct to me but I don't really know why or...maybe I'm wrong.

Both are correct, but in normal/daily conversation in real life, we rather use the former (**本を１冊**持ってます、**本が２冊**あります、**りんごを３つ**ください、うちには**子豚が3匹**いるよ etc.) over the latter (**１冊の本を**持ってます、**２冊の本が**あります、**３つのりんごを**ください、うちには**3匹の子豚が**いるよ etc.) — Chocolate, Aug 03 '16 at 04:11

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 03 '16 at 02:31

0

Both are natural and correct. But there is a subtle difference.

彼は本を一冊持っています。

This is a very plain expression, just describing a situation or a fact.

彼は一冊の本を持っています。

This sounds like a beginning of a story. The emphasis is on 一冊の本 which is a something to be explained later, like

彼は一冊の本を持っています。彼のおばあさんからもらった本です。

answered Aug 03 '16 at 02:31

a book vs one of the books – kurakura88 Aug 03 '16 at 03:23
@kurakura88 どっちが"a book"でどっちが"one of the books"になるんですか？ – Chocolate Aug 03 '16 at 03:57
ごめん、彼は本を一冊持っています→ a book。彼は一冊の本を持っています→ one of the books。説明はよくなくなくないさんが言った通りですけど。ただ、これで考えれば、覚えやすいんじゃないかなと。 – kurakura88 Aug 03 '16 at 03:59
What do "the books" indicate? My explanation is not limited to a situation in which 彼 is standing in front of a bookshelf full of books. "a book vs one of the books" has nothing to do with this question. – Yokunakunakunakunakunakunai Aug 03 '16 at 08:33

1 Answers1