In Japanese, the particle の (no) has several different uses in a sentence.
Some of the most common uses of の include following usages:
(1) わたしの本 – my book
Possession: The particle の can be used to indicate possession, similar to the English word “of.”
For example, “私の本” (watashi no hon) means “my book” or “book of mine.”
E.g., | あなたの家族 your family、彼の夢 his dream
(2) イタリアのりょうり – Italy food
Description (or Categorize): The particle の can be used to link two nouns together to describe something.
For example, “イタリアの料理（りょうり）” means “Food of Italy.”
Note that Italy doesn’t possess the food. (Compare with the sentence (1).)
E.g.,| 黄色の本 (yellow book), 夢の話 (the dream story)
(3) つくえの下
Position: The particle の indicates the relative position.
E.g.,| みぎのひと person on the right、むねのボタン chest button
あるくのが好きです
Nominalization: The particle の can also be used to turn a verb or an adjective into a noun.
For example, “歩くのが好きです” means “I like walking” or “walking is something I like.”
E.g.,| 本を読むのは楽しい Reading books is fun.
（その本は）わたしのです
Substitution: The particle の can be used to replace a noun or a noun phrase.
For example, “彼女の” (kanojo no) can mean “her” or “her things,” depending on the context.
Here, Noun + の + です（わたしのです）is the abbreviated style of Noun + の + item + です（わたしの本です） (see example (1), posession)
雨がふったので、外にでかけませんでした
Explanation: The particle の can be used to give an explanation or a reason for something.
For example, “雨が降ったので、外に出かけませんでした” (ame ga futta node, soto ni dekakemasen deshita) means “I didn’t go out because it was raining.”
Summary