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じゃあ、最初に見たほうのにします.

This is a relatively easy sentence yet I can't seem to understand the purpose of the の here. This is said after choosing a product.

Simon
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    Just out of curiosity, where did this sentence come from? I ask because someone on HiNative asked about a different aspect of grammar from the exact same sentence, which tells me it's probably from a textbook or something. Just curious which resource. – Leebo Sep 23 '21 at 21:30
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    @Leebo It's from the 2 hour conversation practice youtube video from JapanesePod101. This exact sentence is at around 22:43. – Simon Sep 24 '21 at 00:16
  • @Simon I think it functions as a definite pronoun meaning the one: https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=aq8gEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA114&dq=No+as+a+pronoun+japanese+grammar&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8wr7765bzAhXmIjQIHZx-C2AQ6AF6BAgFEAM#v=onepage&q=No%20as%20a%20pronoun%20japanese%20grammar&f=false Maybe tomorrow I come up with an answer. – Nameless Sep 24 '21 at 05:13
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    I would say じゃあ、最初に見たほうにします。 or maybe じゃあ、最初に見たのにします。 or じゃあ、最初に見たやつにします。 I would never say 最初に見たほうのにします in that context. – chocolate Sep 28 '21 at 14:33

1 Answers1

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This の functions as a nominalizer here, indicating whatever it was that the speaker 「最初に見た」. If the speaker were being fully explicit, the の would be followed by the noun that was whatever they saw first. But this noun (or noun phrase) is omissible if the antecedent has already been established by context.

This usage is broadly similar to the use of "the one" in English:

じゃあ、最初に見たほう[の]{●}にします。
"So, we'll go with the one we saw first."

Eiríkr Útlendi
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    But why would you nominalize a sentence that's already a noun? I feel like ほう should be enough without needing の? – Simon Sep 23 '21 at 21:00
  • @Simon: It seems more natural to me with the の. I suspect this is similar to the の that appears in the shift from Xです to Xのです when imparting a sense of explanation. However, I am not a native speaker -- I'm interested if any of our native-J contributors might have something to say on this. – Eiríkr Útlendi Sep 23 '21 at 21:03
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    To me it seems totally redundant. – aguijonazo Sep 23 '21 at 22:14
  • @EiríkrÚtlendi What does ほう mean in this context? Is it 方? Also shouldn't the nominalizer be right next to the verb 見た instead of having something between the two? – Uri Greenberg Jun 16 '23 at 06:28
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    方 is used for comparison between 2 objects, similar to, 私と比べれば、弟の方が背が高い。 Saying 最初に見たのにします translates to "the one I saw first" and is totally fine but wouldn't be natural in this context. Using 最初に見た方にします is more natural because it entails clearly as part of the comparison that I'm NOT taking the one you're showing me now, but this would be saying "I'll take the side I saw first", while 最初に見た方のにします would be "I'll take what's on the side I saw first", and to be more explicit, 最初に見た方の携帯にします would be "I'll take the phone that's on the side I saw first". – shinku Feb 12 '24 at 04:56