What does the の's mean in this sentence of A to B comparison


  1. The two の's, what are their functions here?

  2. If I removed any or both of them how would that affect the sentence?

  3. Does では mean **so then** here, or is「のではどちらが」a canned expression?

> 一人で旅する **(a) の**と友達と旅する **(b) の**ではどちらがいいですか？
>
> Which do you prefer? Traveling alone or traveling with your friends?

[Link to original tutorial/article](http://maggiesensei.com/2015/10/22/how-to-
use-%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A-yori-comparative-form/)




  1. の is being used as a nominalizer here. By placing の after an adjective or verb, you are able to create a dummy noun. Essentially, you are creating a noun phrase. For example:

> 新しいの  
>  the new one.

> 新しいのが好き。  
>  I like the new one.

の here acts as a "dummy noun" that is being described by 新しい. In your case,
this dummy noun is being modified by the verb 旅する.

> 一人で旅する = to travel alone (verb)  
>  一人で旅するの = travelling alone (noun phrase / gerund)

Likewise, 友達と旅するの is a noun phrase meaning "travelling with friends".

## XとY(と)では

Your second and third questions both fall into one answer. The first reason
why you cannot remove の from this pattern is because と can only list nouns (の
is what _allows_ 旅する to become a noun). The second reason is because this is a
set pattern.

As for this grammar pattern, it is one of the main ways to create a list from
which 「どれ、どちら、どっち」 can choose from. では here essentially means "out of" or
"between". If this does not sound clear, here is an example:

> 猫 **と** 犬 **と** ウサギ（ **と** ） **では** どれが好き？  
>  Do you like cats, dogs, or rabbits the most?  
>  More literal translation: Out of cats, dogs, and rabbits, which one do you
> like most?

Here is another example I stole from IMABI:

> ジョギングは、朝 **と** 夜 **では** どっちがいいの  
>  As for jogging, which is best, morning or night?

So for your example:

> 一人で旅するの **と** 友達と旅するの（ **と** ） **では** どちらが いいですか？  
>  Literal Translation: Between travelling alone and travelling with friends,
> which one is better?  
>  Natural translation: Do you prefer travelling alone or travelling with
> friends?

The addition of the second と makes it sound a bit more old fashioned. It is
omitted often. In addition, と can be replaced with か when implying that you
can choose from something outside of the list. You can find more information
about this pattern [here](https://www.imabi.net/which.htm).




  1. の is being used as a nominalizer here. By placing の after an adjective or verb, you are able to create a dummy noun. Essentially, you are creating a noun phrase. For example:

> 新しいの  
>  the new one.

> 新しいのが好き。  
>  I like the new one.

の here acts as a "dummy noun" that is being described by 新しい. In your case,
this dummy noun is being modified by the verb 旅する.

> 一人で旅する = to travel alone (verb)  
>  一人で旅するの = travelling alone (noun phrase / gerund)

Likewise, 友達と旅するの is a noun phrase meaning "travelling with friends".

## XとY(と)では

Your second and third questions both fall into one answer. The first reason
why you cannot remove の from this pattern is because と can only list nouns (の
is what _allows_ 旅する to become a noun). The second reason is because this is a
set pattern.

As for this grammar pattern, it is one of the main ways to create a list from
which 「どれ、どちら、どっち」 can choose from. では here essentially means "out of" or
"between". If this does not sound clear, here is an example:

> 猫 **と** 犬 **と** ウサギ（ **と** ） **では** どれが好き？  
>  Do you like cats, dogs, or rabbits the most?  
>  More literal translation: Out of cats, dogs, and rabbits, which one do you
> like most?

Here is another example I stole from IMABI:

> ジョギングは、朝 **と** 夜 **では** どっちがいいの  
>  As for jogging, which is best, morning or night?

So for your example:

> 一人で旅するの **と** 友達と旅するの（ **と** ） **では** どちらが いいですか？  
>  Literal Translation: Between travelling alone and travelling with friends,
> which one is better?  
>  Natural translation: Do you prefer travelling alone or travelling with
> friends?

The addition of the second と makes it sound a bit more old fashioned. It is
omitted often. In addition, と can be replaced with か when implying that you
can choose from something outside of the list. You can find more information
about this pattern [here](https://www.imabi.net/which.htm).

