English only has two kinds of demonstrative pronouns (the linguistic term for words like ‘this/these’ or ‘that/those’), which also double as demonstrative adjectives (the linguistic term for the ‘this’ in ‘this bag’ and so on). English uses the word ‘that/these’ to refer to anything that is far from the speaker, but Japanese has a third class of demonstrative pronouns for things that are neither near the speaker nor the listener. Much later in our studies, we will learn more uses for these words, but for now just remember to use ‘あれ /あの/あそこ’ when talking about something that is far away from you and the person with whom you are speaking.
Unlike English, Japanese does not have specific words for ‘my,’ ‘your,’ or ‘their’; instead, we use the appropriate pronoun or name and ‘の.’ The word ‘だれ’ most simply means ‘who,’ so combined with the word ‘の’ we end up with something that approximates ‘whose’: ‘だれの.’
Based on Michiko’s answer, it seems like we are asking about the hat (‘ぼうし’) that we are holding in the picture. Since it is closest to us, we use the word from the ‘こ’ series
これはだれのぼうしですか。
kore ha (wa) dare no boushi desu ka.

Based on Michiko’s answer, it seems like we are asking about the hat (‘ぼうし’) that we are holding in the picture. Since it is closest to us, we use the word from the ‘こ’ series
これはだれのぼうしですか。
kore ha (wa) dare no boushi desu ka.

English only has two kinds of demonstrative pronouns (the linguistic term for words like ‘this/these’ or ‘that/those’), which also double as demonstrative adjectives (the linguistic term for the ‘this’ in ‘this bag’ and so on). English uses the word ‘that/these’ to refer to anything that is far from the speaker, but Japanese has a third class of demonstrative pronouns for things that are neither near the speaker nor the listener. Much later in our studies, we will learn more uses for these words, but for now just remember to use ‘あれ /あの/あそこ’ when talking about something that is far away from you and the person with whom you are speaking.
Unlike English, Japanese does not have specific words for ‘my,’ ‘your,’ or ‘their’; instead, we use the appropriate pronoun or name and ‘の.’ The word ‘だれ’ most simply means ‘who,’ so combined with the word ‘の’ we end up with something that approximates ‘whose’: ‘だれの.’
Based on Michiko’s answer, it seems like we are asking about the wallet (‘さいふ’) that we are holding in the picture. Since it is closest to us, we use the word from the ‘こ’ series
これはだれのさいふですか。
kore ha (wa) dare no saifu desu ka.

Based on Michiko’s answer, it seems like we are asking about the wallet (‘さいふ’) that we are holding in the picture. Since it is closest to us, we use the word from the ‘こ’ series
これはだれのさいふですか。
kore ha (wa) dare no saifu desu ka.

English only has two kinds of demonstrative pronouns (the linguistic term for words like ‘this/these’ or ‘that/those’), which also double as demonstrative adjectives (the linguistic term for the ‘this’ in ‘this bag’ and so on). English uses the word ‘that/these’ to refer to anything that is far from the speaker, but Japanese has a third class of demonstrative pronouns for things that are neither near the speaker nor the listener. Much later in our studies, we will learn more uses for these words, but for now just remember to use ‘あれ /あの/あそこ’ when talking about something that is far away from you and the person with whom you are speaking.
Unlike English, Japanese does not have specific words for ‘my,’ ‘your,’ or ‘their’; instead, we use the appropriate pronoun or name and ‘の.’ The word ‘だれ’ most simply means ‘who,’ so combined with the word ‘の’ we end up with something that approximates ‘whose’: ‘だれの.’
Based on Michiko’s answer, it seems like we are asking about the umbrella (‘かさ’) on the wall. Since it is neither near us nor Michiko, we use the word from the ‘あ’ series.
あれはだれのかさですか。
are ha (wa) dare no kasa desu ka.

Based on Michiko’s answer, it seems like we are asking about the umbrella (‘かさ’) on the wall. Since it is neither near us nor Michiko, we use the word from the ‘あ’ series.
あれはだれのかさですか。
are ha (wa) dare no kasa desu ka.