と(to)
And/With
AとB – A and B
AとVerb – Do Verb with A
と(to) has 2 basic meanings, “and” and “with”.
“and”
The most basic use of と(to) is “and”, used to make a list of nouns like this:
- ねこといぬ – Cat(s) and dog(s)
- ケーキとごはんをたべる – Eat cake and rice.
- リンゴとバナナとミカンとイチゴ – Apples and bananas and oranges and strawberries.
See also Lists.
“with”
と can also be used as “with”; such as talk with, go with, and do with. It must be used instead of を for certain mutual action verbs. (see two-party に)
- かれとたべる – Eat with him
- かのじょとはなす – Talk with her
- かのじょとけっこんする – Get married with her.
It’s not を because:
- かれをたべる = eat him
- かのじょをはなす = “talk” her (talk about her)
- かのじょをけっこんする = Marry her (to someone else)
Verbs that usually use と instead of を
と has to be used in place of を with certain mutual verbs. These are typically verbs you might use “with” with.
- はなす – To speak with (may be に as well)
- けっこんする – To get married with. (must be と)
- あう (can be に as well) – to meet with (May be に as well)
If both に or と may be used, に indicates a single party doing the verb, while と indicates both parties doing the verb.