seanolan wrote:One simple, but usually correct, rule of thumb is, if in English you would use the article "a/an" or "some", use "ga". If you would use the article "the", use "wa". Obviously there are instances when this does not work, but for general use it will help. I teach English to Japanese, and while my J-go is definitely upper beginner, I have had to come up with the opposite to help my kids figure out when to use "a/an" and when to use "the". A simple example:
Neko ga suki desu ka. - Do you like cats/a cat? (in general)
Neko wa suki desu ka. - Do you like this/the cat? (which we have established the existence of previously)
In English, we would only use "the" for a cat once we have established and agreed upon the existence of a particular cat. Same with "wa" in Japanese, from what I understand.
Look! There is a cat. The cat is pretty.
Mite! Neko ga imasu yo. Neko wa kirei desu.
The other English teachers at my school cannot find a flaw with this explanation (yet!) but if anyone sees where this is untrue, please let me know!
Sean
Basically, in the most simple of cases, your rule is right, and that's often the way I explain it as well.
But it often fails, particularly in the general case, when the English equivalent does not use an article at all. In the following example, "ga" = "the" and "wa" = nothing.
The stars are beautiful [now]. -- 星
がきれいだね。
Stars are beautiful [in general]. -- 星
はきれいだね。
And you often need additional context to determine the article to be used.
This sentence:
ネコ
は好きですが、犬
は好きじゃない。
Can mean both:
I like
the cats, but I don't like
the dogs. (When referring to specific groups of animals.)
and:
I like cats, but I don't like dogs. (When referring to the general case.)
Most importantly, "wa" is not used in the middle of a subordinate/relative clause. You should use "ga" or "no", regardless of whether or not its English equivalent is "a", "the" or nothing.
地震があったとき。。。
After an earthquake...
After the earthquake...
After earthquakes...
So yeah, it's a decent rule to use as a starting point in simple conversation, but once you start using more advanced structures, it kinda falls apart.
