How many things? AとBがふたつ


> 「その上{うえ}には熱帯魚{ねったいぎょ}の水槽{すいそう}と何{なに}かのトロフィーがふたつのっている。」

This is a quote from "The wind-up bird and Tuesday's Women." How many fish
tanks are there? How many trophies?




That would be **one fish tank and two trophies** , all of which are placed on
top of something (その上). At least, that is how nearly every native speaker
would read that sentence.

If it were the word 「ふたつ」 that was confusing you, **it would not be used to
count two totally unrelated items** such as a fish tank and a trophy when
there is one of each.

It is not like you are seeing a green apple and a red apple in front of you,
in which case many of us would describe the situation by saying 「リンゴがふたつ（ある）」.




That would be **one fish tank and two trophies** , all of which are placed on
top of something (その上). At least, that is how nearly every native speaker
would read that sentence.

If it were the word 「ふたつ」 that was confusing you, **it would not be used to
count two totally unrelated items** such as a fish tank and a trophy when
there is one of each.

It is not like you are seeing a green apple and a red apple in front of you,
in which case many of us would describe the situation by saying 「リンゴがふたつ（ある）」.

