What is the significance of the "の" in the sentence "誰が盗んだのか、誰か知りませんか。"


In another forum, someone said the difference between

> 誰が盗んだのか、誰か知りませんか。

and

> 誰が盗んだか、誰か知りませんか。

is that the former _has more emphasis on the verb`盗む`_. Another person said
that that's not the case. And that they are the same, but he couldn't explain
why.

I was wondering what the significance of the `の` is in the sentence
`誰が盗んだのか、誰か知りませんか。`? Is the `の` particle in that sentence also the same as the
[_particle の for
explanation_](http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/nounparticles#part5)?




I’m not a specialist, but let me show my fearless explanation. I think two
sentences have different constructions but both have the same meaning.

When it comes to their constructions, I would put them this way.

「か」

> 誰が盗みましたか？（ask for information）
>
> →誰が盗んだ（change the form in order to implant in an indirect question）
>
> ＋ （それを）誰か知っていますか
>
> =「誰が盗んだか、誰か知っていますか？」

「のか」

> 誰が盗んだのですか？（ask for an explanation）...1)
>
> → 誰が盗んだのだ（change the form in order to implant in an indirect question）
>
> ＋ （それを）誰か知っていますか
>
> ＝「誰が盗んだのか、誰か知っていますか？」...2)

1) I agree with your guess that the 「の」 particle is for explanation.(at this
stage)

You say that someone said that 「のか」sentence has more emphasis on the verb. I
can understand his feeling to some extent. He might feel that way maybe
because 「のだ」is used to express the speaker’s strong opinion or decision in
some cases. But I would take「の」as a particle for explanation rather than for
emphasis, in this case.

2) At this stage, I would take「のか」as a tool to implant the first direct
question 「のですか」into the final stage. I think it's similar to the function of
'that' conjunction in English.

Anyway, I would use both of them with little awareness of the difference.
Also, if someone asks me those questions, my answer will be the same. It might
be better to think they’re the same and「の」exists only in order to express the
construction.

EDIT: I added 1) 2) to my answer. I'm very sorry to confuse you. But I hope
what I'm saying will still be your help.




I’m not a specialist, but let me show my fearless explanation. I think two
sentences have different constructions but both have the same meaning.

When it comes to their constructions, I would put them this way.

「か」

> 誰が盗みましたか？（ask for information）
>
> →誰が盗んだ（change the form in order to implant in an indirect question）
>
> ＋ （それを）誰か知っていますか
>
> =「誰が盗んだか、誰か知っていますか？」

「のか」

> 誰が盗んだのですか？（ask for an explanation）...1)
>
> → 誰が盗んだのだ（change the form in order to implant in an indirect question）
>
> ＋ （それを）誰か知っていますか
>
> ＝「誰が盗んだのか、誰か知っていますか？」...2)

1) I agree with your guess that the 「の」 particle is for explanation.(at this
stage)

You say that someone said that 「のか」sentence has more emphasis on the verb. I
can understand his feeling to some extent. He might feel that way maybe
because 「のだ」is used to express the speaker’s strong opinion or decision in
some cases. But I would take「の」as a particle for explanation rather than for
emphasis, in this case.

2) At this stage, I would take「のか」as a tool to implant the first direct
question 「のですか」into the final stage. I think it's similar to the function of
'that' conjunction in English.

Anyway, I would use both of them with little awareness of the difference.
Also, if someone asks me those questions, my answer will be the same. It might
be better to think they’re the same and「の」exists only in order to express the
construction.

EDIT: I added 1) 2) to my answer. I'm very sorry to confuse you. But I hope
what I'm saying will still be your help.

