の [no] and 「こ、そ、あ、ど」 ("ko, so, a, do")

Now that we can describe what things are and are not, let's get a little more specific! The particle の [no] gives possession to things and further describes nouns. For this we use the structure A の B, meaning "B of A" or in the possessive case "A's B". Let's look at a few examples:

あみさん　の　かばん --->The bag of Ami's , or, Ami's bag
Ami-san no kaban

れきし　の　せんせい ---> the teacher of history
rekishi no sensei

おかあさん　の　ほん ---> The book of Mother's, or, Mother's book
okaasan no hon


You can also use の　[no] with simple direction words like これ　(kore), それ (sore), あれ　(are), and どれ (dore) to make your intended meaning more clear to the listener. これ meaning 'this' (something that is close to yourself), それ meaning 'that' (something that is close to the listener), あれ meaning 'that over there' (which is far away from both parties), and どれ meaning 'which'. With these it is easier to define the things around you. Examples:

これ　は　ペン　です。 ---> As for this (right here), it is a pen.
kore [wa] pen desu.

それ　は　えんぴつ　です。 ---> As for that (by you), it is a pencil.
sore [wa] enpitsu desu.

あれ　は　としょかん　です。 ---> That over there, is the library.
are [wa] toshokan desu.

どれ　です　か。 ---> Which is it?
dore desu ka.

When you replace the　「れ」　with 「の」 on each of these you can then link it with a noun to specify which thing you are talking about and where it is in relation to yourself. Examples:

この　ペン　は　にひゃく　えん　です。 ---> As for this pen, it is 200 yen.
kono pen [wa] nihyaku en desu.

その　かばん　は　だれ　です　か。 ---> As for that bag, whose is it?
sono kaban [wa] dare desu ka.

あの　たてもの　は　としょかん　です。 ---> As for that building over there, it is the library.
ano tatemono [wa] toshokan desu.

どの　たてもの　です　か。 ---> Which building is it?
dono tatemono desu ka.

With these structures you can better clarify the noun you are talking about and the meaning you are trying to convey to your partner.

Can you think of other sentences and questions using の　[no] and 「こ、そ、あ、ど」? Let's try!
がんばります！ (ganbarimasu!) Do your best!