Usage of　は、が

Topic Marker and Subject Marker

Roughly speaking, "wa" is a topic marker, and "ga" is a subject marker. The topic is often the same as the subject, but not necessary. The topic can be anything that a speaker wants to talk about (It can be an object, location or any other grammatical element). In this sense, it is similar to the English expressions, "As for ~" or "Speaking of ~."

Basic Differences Between Ga and Wa

"Wa" is used to mark something that has already been introduced into the conversation, or is familiar with both a speaker and a listener. (proper nouns, genetic names etc.) "Ga" is used when a situation or happening is just noticed or newly introduced. See the following example.

In the first sentence, "ojii-san" is introduced for the first time. It is the subject, not the topic. The second sentence describes about "ojii-san" that is previously mentioned. "Ojii-san" is now the topic, and is marked with "wa" instead of "ga."

Wa as Contrast

Beside being a topic marker, "wa" is used to show contrast or to emphasize the subject.

The thing being contrasted may or may not stated, but with this usage, the contrast is implied.

Particles such as "ni（に）," "de（で）," "kara（から）" and "made（まで）" can be combined with "wa" (double particles) to show contrast.

Whether "wa" indicates a topic or a contrast, it depends on the context or the intonation.

Ga with Question Words

When a question word such as "who" and "what" is the subject of a sentence, it is always followed by "ga," never by "wa." To answer the question, it also has to be followed by "ga."

Ga as Emphasis

"Ga" is used for emphasis, to distinguish a person or thing from all others. If a topic is marked with "wa," the comment is the most important part of the sentence. On the other hand, if a subject is marked with "ga," the subject is the most important part of the sentence. In English, these differences are sometimes expressed in tone of voice. Compare these sentences.

Ga in a Special Circumstance

The object of the sentence is usually marked by the particle "o," but some verbs and adjectives (expressing like/dislike, desire, potential, necessity, fear, envy etc.) take "ga" instead of "o."

Ga in Subordinate Clauses

The subject of a subordinate clause normally takes "ga" to show that the subjects of the subordinate and main clauses are different.

Review

Now let's review the rules about "wa" and "ga."

A noun is a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, etc. In general, nouns are used as subjects of verbs, objects of verbs, or complements of subjects. However, in Japanese, only a noun can become a sentence by attaching Hiragana: だ or です.

Expressing State-of-Being

In Japanese, sentences without subjects are very common when the context clearly tells what or who you are referring to. That’s why only one Japanese noun is needed to become a sentence. What you need to do is just to attach だ or です after a noun. It’s easy, isn’t it? Then, what is the difference between だ and です?

Japanese Politeness

In Japanese, you can express politeness at the end of sentences. だ and です have the same meaning; however, the nuance is different. Each sentence pattern can have both expressions: casual and polite.

In casual-spoken Japanese, you can actually omit だ. However, we recommend you firstly memorize polite expressions if you are an adult and use Japanese in public. When you introduce yourself to people whom you have met for the first time, Japanese people need to use です. Otherwise, they will look rude.

Expressing Negative State-of-Being

Instead of だ and です, you just need to attach じゃない and じゃありません. Then, it will become the negative form.

Japanese Politeness

In the negative forms, there is a colloquial expression. Although it is not officially correct, you can express the polite-negative form by attaching です with じゃない. You can mostly hear this expression in conversations. Considering the frequency of use, you should be familiar with both of them.

If you would like to be more formal, you can replace じゃ with では. This is more suitable when you talk with business partners, write a letter, make a public speech, etc.

Noun の Noun

When you want to modify a noun using another noun like “city of Japan,” how should it be? You can utilize の for the expression. の is a member of the class of words called “particles” that connects between words and indicates how the words relate to the rest of the sentence. They will enable you to express various things in Japanese, which you will carefully learn later on. Let’s briefly check how it works.

Don’t memorize that の is equivalent to “of” in English. Again, try not to apply the rules of your first language into Japanese because they are different languages. In Japanese, 日に本ほん語ご is a noun, but in English “Japanese” can work as an adjective (*third example). Let’s learn Japanese grammar as it is.

When you attach （だ / です） or （じゃない / じゃありません）you can express state-of-being as well.

Supplementary Learning: the Concept of the Plurality

Japanese doesn’t have the equivalent of the singular “a” and the plural “-s.” We have put “[it’s a]” just for the sake of translation. We cannot identify whether it is a singular or plural number without background information.

Summary

• 1. You can express state-of-being by attaching だ or です.

  2. You can express negative state-of-being by attaching じゃない or じゃありません.

  3. Sentences without a subject are common.

  4. There are casual, polite (colloquial), and polite (formal) expressions.

  5. You can express various things using particles (Ex. noun の noun).

  6. Japanese doesn’t have the equivalent of the singular “a” and the plural “-s.”