Why there is a の in オープンしたばかりのレストラン?


I learned that in Japanese you can put a sentence in front of a noun without
の: like "買った本" or "もらったプレゼント".

In a JLPT N3 sample question I encountered "オープンしたばかりのレストラン". Could I omit the
の and just say "オープンしたばかりレストラン"?

Thanks!




When you're modifying a noun with a verb phrase (e.g., 美智子が買った本), no particle
is used between the verb phrase and the modified noun. However, ばかり acts like
a noun, and when you're modifying a noun with a noun phrase in Japanese, the の
particle is required. If it's helpful, think of オープンしたばかりのレストラン as the same
construction as:

> 美智子が買った本のブックカバー

Whether ばかり is _actually_ a noun is an interesting question. (It seems to me
that it is, but I'm not sure.)

