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What is お's function here? Plus a word issue... - stplush - 2010-01-29
I'm unsure of what お's purpose is here.
私の国について少しお話しましょう。
Plus I don't understand the last portion of this sentence. Is 見当もつかない one word?
この仕事には何日必要か見当もつかないね。
Thank you.
What is お's function here? Plus a word issue... - Tobberoth - 2010-01-29
stplush Wrote:I'm unsure of what お's purpose is here.o + noun/verbmadeintonoun + shimasu is a form of kenjougo, which is a part of keigo, that is, honorific speech. It's used when you're talking about someone of higher status and the verb is something you would do. So it's actually pronounced "o hanashi shimasu".
私の国について少しお話しましょう。
Plus I don't understand the last portion of this sentence. Is 見当もつかない one word?
この仕事には何日必要か見当もつかないね。
Thank you.
見当もつかない is not one word, no. It's kentou mo tsukanai, which is an ideomatic phrase meaning "having not the slightest idea".
What is お's function here? Plus a word issue... - yudantaiteki - 2010-01-29
So note that お話しましょう is read as お はなし しましょう, not just お はなしましょう. I prefer to use an okurigana し here but I won't claim that's universal. 話 is unfortunately a confusing character because it can stand for はなし all by itself.