particle N5 essential casualpolitewritten
〜は〜が — topic は, subject が within it
〜は〜が
Meaning
- as for X, (its) Y ... — は sets the overall theme, が marks the subject of the comment made about it
Key sentence
象は鼻が長い。
Elephants have long noses. (As for elephants, the nose is long.)
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Topic (noun) + は, Subject (noun) + が | X は Y が [predicate] | 私は犬が好きだ |
When: The default frame for describing a property, ability, or feeling: は names the whole, が names the specific part or object the predicate applies to.
Examples
日本は電車が時間に正確だ。
In Japan, the trains are punctual.
彼は背が高い。
He is tall. (As for him, his height is tall.)
私は日本語が少し話せます。
I can speak a little Japanese.
When you can't use it
- Predicates of liking, ability, and need (好き, 上手, できる, ほしい, 分かる) take が for their object, not を — and the experiencer is the は-topic: 私は寿司が好きだ, not 寿司を好きだ.
Easily confused with
は は alone marks the topic. In this pattern は frames the whole and が then picks out a subject inside the comment — two particles doing two jobs in one sentence. が が marks the grammatical subject of the predicate. は marks what the sentence is about. 象は鼻が長い: the topic is elephants, the subject of 長い is the nose.
See 〜は〜が in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜は〜が the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.