What is the こと in sentences such as あなたのことが好きだ?

Question

*There were a lot of great answers here. I gave the checkmark to ento's answer because I felt it most completely explained all aspects of this use of こと. But many of the other answers are excellent, so if you're visiting this question for the first time, please take a few moments to read through all answers. Thanks to everyone for your help with this question.* --- When learning the phrase "I like X", everyone learns "Xが好きだ". But if X is a pronoun, you sometimes see こと: > あなたが好きだ。　→　あなたのことが好きだ。 **What purpose does こと serve here?** I know that in subordinate clauses, こと can eliminate ambiguity: > 彼が好きな人 "a person he likes" *or* "a person who likes him" > 彼のことが好きな人 "a person who likes him" But in a simple statement such as the first example above, it doesn't seem to change the meaning at all. My own searches on this problem have yielded the following two theories (neither with anything to back them up): 1. こと adds a layer of indirectness, and is therefore preferred from a Japanese standpoint. 2. こと encompasses more of the object ("you" versus "all the things about you") **Is either of these correct?** こと also shows up in many other situations, seemingly without any effect on the meaning: > 事件を覚えている。　→　事件のことを覚えている。 I remember the incident. > 地球を考えて行動する　→　地球のことを考えて行動する take action while considering the <strike>Earth</strike> planet *(edited to "the planet" to fulfill the requirement for 考える to be paired with something abstract)* **What's going on here?**

Answer 1

1) KOTO means "intangible thing." When attached to nouns, it can be translated as "about."

彼は日本のことがよくわかります。> He knows a lot about Japan.

2) KOTO is often used with verbs that convey thought, memory and communication (先生が言ったことを - what the teacher said) or

3) I would say that the theory of making a declaration of love more indirect, and to encompass more of the person is accurate, but it could just be one of those language quirks.

Answer 2

Hello! This is a great question.

Koto is used when talking about a certain thing, so when you said あなたのこと, it can translate to "things about you." When translating 「あなたのことが好きだ。」it means, "I like you," symbolizing everything about that person with a little more subtleties than directly saying 「あなたが好きだ。」

When koto is used along with verbs, like with 「勉強すること」, it adds the "ing" to the end of the verb, so from meaning "to study," with the addition of こと, it changes it to "Studying."

For example, if someone asks 「彼の一番好きな勉強することはなんですか。」they are asking, "What is his favorite thing to study?"