Grammar JLPT Level N5 - Lesson 12

Structure of と:

(Quotation) Phrase + と + Verb^(*)

Verb + と + Verb^(*)
［い］Adjective + と + Verb^(*)
［な］Adjective + (だ) + と + Verb^(*)
Noun + (だ) + と + Verb^(*)

^(*) Verbs like 言(い)う、聞(き)く、思(おも)う、考(かんが)える、仮定(かてい)する and the like are used

Details about と:

One of the regular functions of と in Japanese is as a quotation particle. This use is called 引用(いんよう) in Japanese, which basically translates as 'reference', or 'citation'. This way of using と can appear after almost any type of word (or phrase), but requires だ when used after nouns or な-Adjectives.

先生(せんせい)が「危(あぶ)ない！」と叫(さけ)んだ。
The teacher yelled, 'Watch out!'
木村(きむら)さんが「3キロ歩(ある)いた」と言(い)った。
Kimura san said, 'I walked 3 km.'
あれは猫(ねこ)だと思(おも)う。
I think that is a cat.
富士山(ふじさん)は綺麗(きれい)だと思(おも)う？
Do you think that Mt. Fuji is beautiful?

と as a quotation marker will almost always be followed by a verb that shows what type of 'quote' it is. This can be words like 言(い)う, 思(おも)う, 考(かんが)える, 聞(き)く, etc. However, at the end of a sentence, the verb will often be omitted.

生徒(せいと)が先生(せんせい)に「何(なん)で？」と。
The students asked the teacher, 'Why?'

As with other instances of the particle と being used, this use simply expresses the relationship between (A) 'what was communicated', and (B) 'how it was communicated'.

と