When to use 他【ほか】の or 他【ほか】に?

Question

I always thought only 他の existed, but my teacher uses 他に a lot. Are there differences between when each can be used? Here are two examples of each from my online dictionary: >だれかほかの人に聞いてごらん (Ask somebody else for help) >ほかに行きたい人はいますか (Is there anyone else who wants to go?) In both of these examples, I feel like ほか is describing 人, so why are different particles used?

Answer 1

Great question!

The main difference is that ほかに is an adverb while ほかの is an adjective. Let's look at your two sentences again.

>だれかほかの人に聞いてごらん

In this sentence, ほかの (an adjective) is modifying 人 (a noun).

>ほかに行きたい人はいますか

In this sentence, ほかに (an adverb) is modifying 行きたい (a verb). This can be confusing because 行きたい is actually a modifying verb, modifying人. So ほかに modifies 行きたい, and 行きたい modifies 人.

Let's try rephrasing the sentences to show the difference:

>だれかほかに聞ける人にいてごらん We need to use に because ほかに is modifying a verb (聞ける)

>ほかの人行きたいですか We need to use の because ほかの is modifying a noun (人)

Hope that helps!