JLPT N3 grammar

〜ということmeaning and usage

Meaning

  1. Changes sentence/phrase A into a noun
  2. Presents information A; A is heard (and repeated in this sentence)

How to form it

  • verb (plain form)/い-adjectiveということ
  • noun/な-adjective (stem)だということ

How it is used

1) Turns a whole statement into a noun, 'the fact that A', pointing to the content more clearly than bare 「の」 or 「こと」. 2) 「〜ということだ」 passes on information heard elsewhere: 'I hear that A'.

Examples

  1. 彼は運転が得意だということを知っています。

    I know that he is good at driving.

  2. 大切なのは、毎日続けるということだ。

    What matters is keeping it up every day.

  3. 来週の授業は休みということです。

    I hear next week's class is cancelled.

About the example 1. Nominalizes clause A, as in this example. 2. Can also express reported information A, depending on the construction.