'に' in this sentence

[adrienztbhdude3879]

I can't figure out what the ni particle is doing in this particular sentence, I know the meaning of the sentence though the particle confusing me a lot.

Phrase: 真剣で私に恋しなさい。

Also I was wondering if the pronoun 私 as being indicated by the particle に as the target of the verb, but thats the function of the を　particle and, I guess, that it would also fit, since 私 is the direct object.

Thanks in advance,

エイドリアン。

[mewes6190]

Hey there!

Actually, I can't give you an exact grammatical answer, someone else surely can do that and hopefully will, but in this case the にis a directional particle as far as I can see it. It makes the 私 not the object, but the, uh, "recipient" of the 恋 and everything beyond.
It's actually hard to explain without the exact terms (Which I don't know) and に´is a versatile particle, but in this case I would say, it is a directional particle.
Like, in english, when you ask "Whom is he giving it to?" "Me."
In japanese that me would be "私に" as I understand it. 私 isn't the object, but it's the recipient of the object... something like that.
I hope someone else can explain it better than me.

Anyway, welcome to the forums!

くろくま

[mewes6190]

Oh, and PS: since I didn't get whatever that しなさい means (I'm a beginner myself), I googled it and found out, there's a Manga which is called わたしにxxしなさい.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missions_of_Love

[adrienztbhdude3879]

I just figured it out already　it、 私に works as the indirect object thats why we use に instead of を、since the direct object according to the phrase would be something like あなた、君、or whatever name instead of a pronoun.

兎に角、ありがとうございました皆さん！

[thegooseking]

エイドリアンさん、

It confuses me too. I can offer a hypothesis, on the understanding that hypothesis is all it is.

Actually, my hypothesis is quite similar to くろくまさん's, and your conclusion, but I want to talk more about why I think that.

My first instinct is that this is typical Japanese indirectness. You're asking someone to do something (なさい imperative), which means they're doing it for you, and when describing something we're doing for someone else, we use に, E.g.:-

母に書く。
I am writing to my mother.

娘のために働く。
I am working for my daughter's sake.

If you were simply indicating that someone fell in love with someone, you would definitely use を, like you say. But because you're asking for something, Japanese politeness (not to mention potential nervousness about confessing your feelings ) would suggest being less direct. Literally, in this case, as 私 goes from a direct object to an indirect object.

That's just my guess, though.

I just figured it out already　it、 私に works as the indirect object thats why we use に instead of を、since the direct object according to the phrase would be something like あなた、君、or whatever name instead of a pronoun.

I don't think that's quite right. あなた (or some other second-person indicator) is always the (implied) subject of an imperative-form verb, so if it were also the object, then you would be asking someone to fall in love with themselves. Which is no bad advice, but I think it's less likely to be what the sentence means. But yes, 私 is probably the indirect object.

小狼

[charliegchen8215]

Also I was wondering if the pronoun 私 as being indicated by the particle に as the target of the verb, but thats the function of the を　particle and, I guess, that it would also fit, since 私 is the direct object.

を indicates OBJECT of an transitive verb. に has a billion meanings but in this case it means "with" "to" etc. Same usage as 君に会う。 Can be replaced with と with slight different nuance so 私と恋しなさい also works with slight difference in meaning.

恋する is normally Intrasitive Verb so it can't take objects so を wouldn't work here anyway.

[thegooseking]

Also I was wondering if the pronoun 私 as being indicated by the particle に as the target of the verb, but thats the function of the を　particle and, I guess, that it would also fit, since 私 is the direct object.

を indicates OBJECT of an transitive verb. に has a billion meanings but in this case it means "with" "to" etc. Same usage as 君に会う。 Can be replaced with と with slight different nuance so 私と恋しなさい also works with slight difference in meaning.

恋する is normally Intrasitive Verb so it can't take objects so を wouldn't work here anyway.

Remember that を is not only used to mark direct objects; it can also be used to mark the cause of a verb of emotion, even if that verb is not transitive. I would be surprised if 恋する is not counted as a verb of emotion. However, I do wonder if it only makes sense to talk about the 'cause' of an emotion in an indicative statement and not an imperative one...

小狼

[jlfaith4181]

Could some one let me know if this sentence is grammatically correct and makes sense:

Watashi wa Rosanzerusu ni basukettoboru no shiai o mimashita.

Sorry for my lack of Kana!

[thegooseking]

jlfaith-san,

It's almost right, but the 'ni' (which is the part I think you're really asking about) isn't. Are you saying "I saw a basketball game in Los Angeles"?

Watashi wa Rosanzerusu de basukettoboru no shiai o mimashita.

You normally use 'de' for providing context of where a verb happens. There are a couple of exceptions: with existence verbs (most commonly iru and aru, but also a few others including suwaru (sit), tatsu (stand), sumu (reside), and so on), you use 'ni', and with verbs of motion, if you want to describe where the motion happens (as opposed to the destination), you would normally use 'o'.

Basukettoboru no shiai wa Rosanzerusu ni arimashita. - The basketball game was in Los Angeles.

Watashi wa Rosanzerusu o norimawashimashita. - I drove around in Los Angeles.

Hope that helps,
小狼

[jlfaith4181]

Thank You very much Yes I wanted to say that I watched a basketball game in Los Angeles. And thank you for taking the time to give me a detailed description as to why it is 'de' and not 'ni'. Much clearer for future reference!

[community.japanese]

エイドリアンさん、くろくまさん、小狼さん、charliegchen8215-san, jlfaith4181-san,
kon'nichiwa
Thank you for the brilliant helps

I was just wondering where エイドリアンsan took the original (in the first post of this thread) sentence from...
Please note it's 真剣に not 真剣で

Natsuko (奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com