の (no) vs. こと (koto)


What's the difference? How do you know when to use one vs. the other?

I'm asking because I said 「話｛はな｝すことを止｛や｝める」, but was corrected to 「話｛はな｝すの...」
and I don't understand why.

_(I searched for this question but was surprised to find it doesn't already
exist!)_




It doesn't make big difference concerning most verbs as other posts say, but
some verbs can make big difference. For example, 見る and 聞く make these
differences.

  * 傷｛いた｝んでいるのを見た I found it rotten
  * 傷んでいることを見た I considered/expected that it would be rotten

  * その人がピアノを弾くのを聞いた I heard him play piano

  * その人がピアノを弾くことを聞いた I heard that he would play piano

In addition, since の is a pronoun, it's not impossible to interpret の as
substitution for こと and that interpretation makes sentences with の ambiguous.




This would depend on the context/situation in which either sentence is
uttered, but if you used 「話すことを止める」 in a situation where you are only talking
about "stopping talking **_for now or just momentarily_** ", it could sound a
little bit strange. It is not necessarily **_incorrect_** ; It just sounds
kind of too serious if you use 「こと」 there. In short, it could sound like you
are saying that you will stop talking **_for good_**.

「の」 is **_slightly_** more informal than 「こと」 in nuance; therefore, it would
fit that situation that much, if not very much, better.

