Vocabulary
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Learn about the subject-marking particle
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Hi, everyone. |
Welcome to the Ultimate Japanese Particle Guide. |
In this lesson, you'll learn the particle... |
が (ga) |
This particle is often referred to as the subject particle. It can also mark the object for certain verbs and adjectives. |
As a subject particle, it indicates existence. |
Right. So が (ga) is often used with あります (arimasu) and います (imasu), meaning “to have“ or “to exist.” |
Let's see how it functions in a sentence. |
あそこに、コンビニがあります。 (Asoko ni konbini ga arimasu.) |
This means "There's a convenience store over there." |
Let's break it down. |
あそこに (Asoko ni) |
"over there" |
コンビニ (konbini) |
"convenience store" |
が (ga) |
This is the particle marking the subject. |
あります (arimasu) |
This is the verb to talk about the existence of something, just like we'd say "there is" or "there are" in English. |
Remember that to talk about the existence of animate things, such as people and animals, you should use..。 |
います (imasu) |
When some people pronounce this particle, it can sound nasally. |
Right, it sounds like nga (the sound between "ga" and "n," not "n+ga"). |
Both “GA” and “NGA” are acceptable, so don’t worry too much. |
Now let's take a look at a few more examples. |
ペットがいます。 (Petto ga imasu.) |
Literally, it means "There is a pet," but it actually means "I have a pet." |
宿題があります。 (Shukudai ga arimasu.) |
Literally, it means "There is homework" or “I have homework.” |
兄弟がいません。(Kyōdai ga imasen.) |
This sentence is negative, and it literally means "There aren't (any) siblings,” which is like saying "I don't have any siblings." |
We can also use this particle to mark an object of desire, with certain verbs or adjectives. |
Right. For example, we can mark the object of an adjective of desire, such as 欲しいです (hoshii desu / "[I] want") or [the stem of a verb]+たいです (~ tai desu), which means ("[I] want to [verb]"). |
Let's see how it functions in a sentence. |
私は時間が欲しいです。(Watashi wa jikan ga hoshii desu.) |
This means, "I want time." Let's break it down |
私は (Watashi wa) |
...which means "I" is the topic or subject of this sentence, so it’s marked by the particle... |
は (wa) |
Please note that the "watashi wa (私は)" part is often omitted since "hoshii" is only used in the first person. |
Then, we have the object, what the speaker wants... |
時間が (jikan ga) |
Notice that the particle marking the object is... |
が (ga) |
Finally, we have... |
欲しいです (hoshii desu) |
This is an adjective and means "(I) want." |
Let's give an example with a verb |
By using [the stem of a verb]+たい, you can say 私はお茶が飲みたいです。(Watashi wa o-cha ga nomitai desu.) |
"I want to drink tea." |
As you can see, the object お茶 (o-cha) is marked by が (ga). |
〜が欲しいです (~ ga hoshii desu) and 〜がしたいです (~ ga shitai desu) are the key patterns to remember. |
Let's take a look at a few more examples. |
私はピンクの車が欲しいです。 (Watashi wa pinku no kuruma ga hoshii desu.) |
"I want a pink car." |
私はそばが食べたいです。(Watashi wa soba ga tabetai desu.) |
“I want to eat buckwheat noodles." |
私は水が飲みたいです。(Watashi wa mizu ga nomitai desu.) |
"I want to drink water." |
Now, let's use what you learned in this lesson. |
How do you say "There is a park over there."? Here's the word meaning "park." |
We learned how to say "There is a convenience store over there." |
あそこに、コンビニがあります。 (Asoko ni konbini ga arimasu.) |
Here the particle が (ga) marks the subject of the sentence. The structure of the sentence is... |
[subject] |
が (ga) |
[exsistence verb] |
Now let's try with "There's a park over there.” Here's the word for "park." |
公園 (kōen) |
Try to say "There's a park over there" in Japanese. [pause] |
あそこに、公園があります。 (Asoko ni kōen ga arimasu.) |
Did you get it right? In this sentence, the particle が (ga) indicates existence. |
Let's try one more. We also learned how to say "I want time." |
私は時間が欲しいです。(Watashi wa jikan ga hoshii desu.) |
Here the particle が (ga) marks the object of desire. The structure is... |
[object] |
が (ga) |
[desire verb or adjective] |
Now let's try with "I want water." Here's the word for "water." |
水 (mizu) |
Try to say "I want water" in Japanese. [pause] |
私は水が欲しいです。(Watashi wa mizu ga hoshii desu.) |
Right, in this case "water" is the object of a desire. |
In this lesson, you learned about the particle... |
が |
In the next lesson, you'll learn about the particle... |
を |
See you in the next lesson. Bye! |
Bye~ |
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