Japanese Grammar Tips ~The Particles~ (3)

Today I'm going to tell you tip(3).

--------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Xは = The theme of the sentence is X
 - We usually use は to describe things. So <AはB> is often translated as <A is B>.
 - が is used to emphasize the subject. <AがB> can be translated as <B is A>.

 - When we answer the questions like "who is...?" or "what is...?", it's natural to use が.

 - が has an exclusive meaning. If we say Aが, it implies that not B, C, but A.

(2) が describes objectively what has happened
 - When we describe "what happens" or "what has happened", we use が.
 - In this case, you are just a spectator who describes the situation objectively.
 - If you use は to describe happenings, then it focuses on "what someone/something did".
 - When we talk about the actions of the first and the second person, tip(1) applies.
(3) When the subject changes in one sentence, we should use が
(4) Can't we repeat は in one sentence? 
(5) Some Japanese verbs used が to mark the direct object
(6) は can be attached to another particles
* (1) ～ (3) are the posts from lang-8
---------------------------------------------------------------

(3) When the subject changes in one sentence, we should use が.

In Japanese language, the subject of the sentence is quite often omitted. It rarely happens in English unless it is a direct command, though.

Now let's see an example sentence.
＞あの男の人が警察だと気付きました。
I found that man was a police officer.
You know, this sentence is consist of 2 sentences.

私は気付きました (I found)
　　　＋
あの男の人は警察です (That man is a police officer)

　　　↓

あの男の人が警察だと気付きました

As you see, the subject 私 is omitted. And did you notice that the particle has changed? The particle が implies that the subject changes in the sentence. It doesn't always mean that this が has an exclusive meaning.

私は気付きました＋彼は警察です → 彼が警察だと気付きました。

* It doesn't have an exclusive meaning.

私は気付きました＋彼が警察です → 彼が警察だと気付きました。

* It has an exclusive meaning.

Let's have a look at another example:

＞ 花子さんは結婚したことを知っています。

Hanako knows (someone) got married.

In this sentence, the speaker didn't mention who got married. It's omitted.

We use は to describe things or features ― tip(1). We usually use が to describe happenings or actions on the other hand ― tip(2). 知っている is considered as a kind of status of the person, even though "to know" is a verb in English. So tip(1) is applied to it.

What does it sound like if I use が in this sentence?

＞ 花子さんが結婚したことを知っています。

According to tip(1), this sentence can be write as:

＞ 結婚したことを知っているのは花子さんです。

Hanako is the one who knows (someone) got married.

This が has an exclusive meaning. The speaker possibly answered the questions like "who knows that (someone) got married?", or he wants to imply that not the any other person but Hanako does.

But wait, as I said, が is also used to show that the subject changes.!

花子さんが結婚したことを知っています。

So it can also translated as "I (or someone else) know Hanako got married". In this case, the subject of 知っています is omitted. As I wrote, if it's obvious between speaker and the listener, the subject is often dropped off.

Picture this. You went shopping at the mall, and coincidentally met Hanako's ex, Mr.Tanaka. You knew Hanako never contacted him after they broke up. You found Mr.Tanaka was going to buy a women's purse, so you said:

You: あれ、田中さん、それは・・・？

Hey, Mr.Tanaka, is it...?

Mr.Tanaka: ああ、花子への結婚祝いに。

Yeah, it's a wedding gift for Hanako.

You: なんで花子さんが結婚したことを知っているんですか？

Why do you know that Hanako got married?

Mr.Tanaka: 毎日彼女のフェイスブックをチェックしているからね。

Because I check her Facebook page everyday.

＞なんで(あなたは)花子さんが結婚したことを知っているんですか？

Here, the subject of 知っている is "you" but it's omitted. You cannot use は here because は can't imply the subject of 知っている is different.

Let's recap!

- When the subject changes in one sentence, we should use が.

- On the contrary, は can't imply the omitted subject.

The previous journal's <QUIZ> answer 

[2] 父が公園のベンチで寝ています。

It's natural to use が in this case, because you just describe what you saw. If you use は, you might already knew that your father is sleeping in the park, and tell others "what your father is doing" or "where your father sleeps". In other words, が shows "new" information, and は shows known information between the speaker and the listener.



<Today's QUIZ>
Which sentence is correct to describe the situation below:
You got angry because your husband  cheated on you!

[1] 夫は浮気したことに怒っている。
[2] 夫が浮気したことに怒っている。

*夫(おっと) /otto/ a husband
*浮気(うわき)する /uwaki suru/ to cheat on one's partner
*怒(おこ)る /okoru/ to get angry

Yeah, it will be found out soon..... lol
That's all for today! Thank you for reading! =)

Japanese Grammar Tips ~The Particles~ (2)

In previous post, I wrote about the basic idea of Japanese particles は and が. I will tell you the answer of previous post's quiz at the end of this post. First of all, let me introduce tip(2).

--------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Xは = The theme of the sentence is X
 - We Usually use は to describe things. So <AはB> is often translated as <A is B>. 
 - が is used to emphasize the subject. <AがB> can also be translated as <B is A>.
 - When we answer the questions like "who is...?" or "what is...?", it is natural to use が.
 - が has an exclusive meaning. If we say Aが, it implies that not B, C, or D, but A.
(2) が describes objectively what has happened
(3) When the subject changes in one sentence, we should use が
(4) Can't we repeat は in one sentence? 
(5) Some Japanese verbs used が to mark the direct object
(6) は can be attached to another particles
* (1) ～ (3) are the posts from lang-8
---------------------------------------------------------------

(2) が describes objectively what has happened
As I wrote in previous journal, は shows the theme of the sentence. It is used to describe what something or someone is like, or what it is. On the other hand, when it comes to describe what is happening or what has happened, we usually use が.

＞黒い犬が公園で寝ている。
A black dog is sleeping in the park.
＞雨が降るかもしれない。
It may rain.
＞昨日弟が家に来た。
My brother came to my house yesterday.

Here, these が don't have the exclusive meaning like tip(1). It just pointed the subject of the sentence. They can also be changed into は, but then, the shade of meaning of the sentence will be different.

＞黒い犬は公園で寝ている。
Speaking of the dog, it's sleeping in the park.
＞雨は降るかもしれない。
Speaking of the rain, it may fall.
＞昨日弟は家に来た。
Speaking of my brother, he came to my house yesterday.


Can you see the difference? Let's take a look at another example.
[1] 彼女がダイエットを始めた。
[2] 彼女はダイエットを始めた。
Both can be translated as "she started a diet". [1] just describes what happened, and [2] is, on the contrary, speaking about what she did. In other words, when we say <XがY>, the point of the sentence is on Y. But if we say <XはY>, then it means we focus on X.

[1] 彼女がダイエットを始めた　→　talking about WHAT HAPPENED
[2] 彼女はダイエットを始めた　→　talking about WHAT SHE DID

So, if you say <XがY> , you are just a spectator who describes the situation objectively. Then, which particular should I use if I want to talk about myself or about you? Well, we usually omit the subject if it's the first of second person. Japanese people tends to drop the words if it's obvious between the speaker and the listener. But if I dare to write it, I would use は.

＞私は今から家に帰ります。
I'm going to go home now.
＞あなたは明日パーティーに来ますか？
Will you come to the party tomorrow?

It sounds natural to use は when we talk about ourselves.
When you use が, you must be just a spectator who describes the situation objectively. This is the point. You can't be the third person when we talk about yourself, can you? (Some people might say that he has another himself who watches his behavior... but who cares?) This is why we prefer using は in this case.


So, in ordinary circumstances, I mean you are not the one who is watching yourself and describe objectively what you did, guess what these sentences imply:

＞私が今から家に帰ります。
＞あなたが明日パーティーに来ますか？

In this case, tip(1) applies. These が have the exclusive meanings. You are the one who will come to the party tomorrow? Not others but YOU?


Let's recap!
- When we describe "what happens" or "what has happened", we use が.
- In this case, you are just a spectator who describes the situation objectively.
- If you use は to describe happenings, then it focuses on "what someone/something did".
- When we talk about the actions of the first and the second person, tip(1) applies.



The previous post's <QUIZ> answer
[1] これは良い　→　This is good.
[2] これが良い　→　This is the one that is good.

The difference between them is:
[1] is talking about what it is like, and [2] is talking about which one is good.
Imagine you're going to buy a new laptop. There're many laptops in the shop, but you found the one which seems to be perfect for you. You picked it up and said これが良い！



<Today's QUIZ>
Picture this. You're walking at the park. It was a beautiful day. You found someone is sleeping on a bench when you passed it by. And surprisingly, it was your father!

Which sentence is more natural to describe what you saw at the park?
[1] 父は公園のベンチで寝ている。
[2] 父が公園のベンチで寝ている。


By the way, do you remember this picture? I drew it for the post <The Word Order>, in which I wrote about the word order in Japanese. =)


That's all for today! If you have any questions or comments, I'd be glad to hear that. Thank you for reading! Bye!

Japanese Grammar Tips ~The Particles~ (1)

*This article is what I wrote on lang-8.
I'm going to post these articles and some additions here.


(1) Xは = The theme of the sentence is X
(2) が describes objectively what has happened
(3) When the subject changes in one sentence, we should use が
(4) Can't we repeat は in one sentence? 
(5) Some Japanese verbs used が to mark the direct object
(6) は can be attached to another particles
* (1) ～ (3) are the posts from lang-8

I've thought about the difference between は and が (Japanese particles) for the first time in my life since I corrected my friends' journals more often than before. Come to think of it, it is really hard to explain the difference between them though I use it everyday. So I googled and got some tips about the usage of は and が.

I'm going to write about those tips to share with you guys but I'm not a specialist, so I'm not sure if it's linguistically correct or not. I welcome your comments and suggestions. I mean, I'm also waiting for comments from Japanese people! :)


(1) Xは = The theme of the sentence is X
If we say "Xは", it shows that we're going to talk about X.
In other words, X is a subject of the sentence.

＞彼女 は クラスでいちばん可愛い。
She is the cutest girl in our class.
＞あの女の人 は 私の母です。
That woman is my mother.
＞父 は いつも朝早く起きて犬の散歩に行く。
My father takes our dog for a walk every early morning.
＞昨日の夕飯 は カレーだった。
Our last supper was curry and rice.

Let's see what does it sound like if these は changes into が.

＞彼女 が クラスでいちばん可愛い。
She is the one who is the cutest girl in our class.
＞あの女の人 が 私の母です。
That woman is the one who is my mother.
＞父 が いつも朝早く起きて犬の散歩に行く。
My father is the one who takes our dog every early morning.
＞昨日の夕飯 が カレーだった。
It was last supper when we ate curry and rice.

As you see, it sounds a bit different. We use が to emphasize "whom" or "what" we are talking about. So the theme of the sentence is placed at the latter part of the sentence.

So you can read these sentences as:
彼女がクラスでいちばん可愛い＝クラスで一番かわいいのは彼女だ
あの女の人が私の母です＝私の母はあの女の人です
父がいつも朝早く起きて犬の散歩に行く＝いつも朝早く起きて犬の散歩に行くのは父だ

Let's have a look at the difference between them with some examples.
Taro: あの女の人は誰ですか？ (Who's that woman?)
Akiko: 彼女は英語の先生です。(She's our English teacher.)
Taro: じゃあ、誰が数学の先生ですか？ (Then, who's your math teacher?)
Akiko: あの男の人が数学の先生です。(That man is our math teacher.)

Akiko use が when she answered Taro's question (WHO IS...?). This is the simplest tip. If you were asked 何が(what is)～？ or 誰が(who is)～？ you should use が.

Taro: 英語の授業は難しいですか？(Is your English class hard for you?)
Akiko: いいえ。数学が難しいです。(No. The math class is difficult.)
She said the math class IS difficult, not the English class or any other classes. This が is used to emphasize the word before it, and it has an exclusive meaning.

Let me explain more about its "exclusive meaning".
＞Aさんは日本人です。
＞Aさんが日本人です。
Both can be translated as "A is Japanese". But if we use が in this sentence, it implies that it's not B, C, D, nor E, but A IS Japanese. So it excludes others.

Let's recap!
-We Usually use は to describe things. So <AはB> is often translated as <A is B>. 
-が is used to emphasize the subject. <AがB> can also be translated as <B is A>.
-When we answer the questions like "who is...?" or "what is...?", it is natural to use が.
-が has an exclusive meaning. If we say Aが, it implies that not B, C, or D, but A.


<QUIZ>
What's the difference between these sentences below?
>これは良い
>これが良い
Please feel free to leave your comment. :)

Self Introduction in Japanese

When you start to learn a foreign language, and if your goal is to speak it with people, what should you learn first? Self introduction!! Right? :)

I guess you guys already know how to say these expressions in Japanese:
-Hello. こんにちは/konnichiwa/
-Nice to meet you. はじめまして/hajimemashite/
-I'm... わたしは/watashi wa.../
-Thank you. ありがとう（ございます）/arigatou (gozaimasu)/
You can check some common greetings in this post, too:
<Common Greeting Phrases in Japanese>


There're tons of resources about self introduction in Japanese. They tell you how to say where you from, what you do, what you like, etc. I want to add some expressions to your self-introduction list.

(1) I just started learning Japanese.

日本語（にほんご）の勉強（べんきょう）を始（はじ）めたばかりです。

/nihongo no benkyou wo hajimeta bakari desu/

Or make it more simple --> I'm a beginner.

初心者（しょしんしゃ）です。

/shoshin-sha desu/

(2) I can't read or write Hiragana/Katakana yet.

まだひらがなとカタカナ（かたかな）がわかりません。

/mada hiragana to katakana ga wakarimasen/

Simple version --> I don't know the characters yet.

まだ文字（もじ）がわかりません。

/mada moji ga wakarimasen/

(3) Can you help me with learning Japanese?

日本語（にほんご）の勉強（べんきょう）を手伝（てつだ）ってください。

/nihongo no benkyou wo tetsudatte kudasai/

Simple version --> Can you help me please?

手伝（てつだ）ってもらえますか？

/tetsudatte morae masu ka?/

Now you can speak Japanese! ;)

Here's an idea for Language Exchange: What Should I Talk About?

Try it, and please don't afraid of making a mistake. If you have any questions or comments, I'll be happy to hear them! Or, why don't you try writing your self introduction here? ;)