[...]のあの[...] Meaning and valid usage


I am reading the Japanese translation of Matilda. Spoilers ahead.

Matilda is deciding to take revenge on her father for his "attitude in front
of the TV". She says:

> テレビの前でのあの態度にはお返しをしなければならない。

「テレビの前でのあの態度」 throws me off. I would have thought this only to work if we had
「テレビの前の態度」, or alternatively put some kind of verb after で.

Is this のあの construct common? How should I parse it? I'm assuming it means
"that attitude", "such an attitude" etc.




The construction isn't のあの; rather, it's テレビの前での followed by あの.

In English prepositional phrases can modify nouns as in:

> "his attitude in front of the tv"

But in Japanese テレビの前で alone cannot modify a noun.

By adding の to テレビの前で, it can then modify 態度.

あの態度 means "his attitude".

If you dropped で then you loose the spacial aspect of what's being expressed.
で informs you about where the father is displaying his attitude. If you just
said, テレビの前の態度, then this sounds like you're talking about the _attitude of
the front of the TV_.

So there are two modifiers here for 態度

  * あの meaning essentially "his" or "that"
  * テレビの前での "in front of the TV"




The construction isn't のあの; rather, it's テレビの前での followed by あの.

In English prepositional phrases can modify nouns as in:

> "his attitude in front of the tv"

But in Japanese テレビの前で alone cannot modify a noun.

By adding の to テレビの前で, it can then modify 態度.

あの態度 means "his attitude".

If you dropped で then you loose the spacial aspect of what's being expressed.
で informs you about where the father is displaying his attitude. If you just
said, テレビの前の態度, then this sounds like you're talking about the _attitude of
the front of the TV_.

So there are two modifiers here for 態度

  * あの meaning essentially "his" or "that"
  * テレビの前での "in front of the TV"

