0

I am looking at the lyrics of お握りはどこかしら to help with Japanese recognition; the song is fast, but by deciphering the lyrics I can better recognize what is being said and keep up with the lyrics.

Thus far the song is very informal, but I am confused by this line:

お母さんはもういないし、おうちに食べ物一つもないし…

The use of "一つ" here. I know it says "My mom is not here anymore (she left for [work]) and there is not a single piece of food in our house."

But is there anything grammatical about the use of 一つ here?

sundowner
  • 36,445
  • 2
  • 19
  • 57
BigRigz
  • 383
  • 1
  • 8
  • What makes you feel it's random? Because it's not 一つのたべもの? Related: Counters with and without の – sundowner Dec 17 '23 at 22:52
  • 一つの食べ物 does not make sense here, and 一つ is used after 食べ物. I could not find anything online regarding what 一つ actually adds to the sentence. – BigRigz Dec 17 '23 at 23:15
  • It depends on what you mean, but 一つの食べ物 basically means the same thing. It is simply unidiomatic. – sundowner Dec 17 '23 at 23:32
  • I was under the assumption that 一つの[名詞] is "One [Noun]," while [名詞]の一つ meant "Type of [Noun]," but maybe I am forgetting grammar. Here, there is no の, so I did not want to assume anything. – BigRigz Dec 17 '23 at 23:52

1 Answers1

3

It adds even (cf. 一つ #6). Basically it adds emphasis to negation.

食べ物がない and 食べ物一つもない more or less correspond to there is no food and there is not even a piece of food.

sundowner
  • 36,445
  • 2
  • 19
  • 57