Learn about the subject-marking particle
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| 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~ |
Comments
Hide