Can the particle は be used twice?

Question

Can the topic marker は be used twice in a sentence? For example, かれは日本語はいいですね。　Is that right?

Answer 1

Yes. As long as there is only none or one neutral topic and the rest are contrastive.

Answer 2

Particle は is quite versatile and flexible, which implies, for foreigners (外{がい}人{じん}), a quite slow learning curve. One of the many possible usages of this particle is the one devoted to underline and express contrast. I guess it is the only possible (common and regular) context where you will find two は particles in the same sentence.

I am going to describe classic situations, but please consider that more complex examples are possible.

Contrast on subjects

Please look at the following pattern:

(Subject-1)は(Sentence-1)[が|けど|けれども|...]、(Subject-2)は(Sentence-2)

Here are some examples:

1) あの、僕は出来ないけど、ケンちゃんは出来るよ！彼に聞いたほうがいいと思う〜 => Well, I am the one who cannot do that, Ken-chan can sure do it! You better ask him I think!

2) ミナト先生は知っているんだけど、フジヤマ先生は知らないと思う！ => Minato-sensei knows it, it's Fujijama-sensei the one who doesn't know I think

Contrast of objects

Take a look at this pattern as well:

(Sentence-1-Part1)(Object-1)は(Sentence-1-Part2)[が|けど|けれども|...]、 (Sentence-2-Part1)(Object-2)は(Sentence-2-Part2)

Here are some examples:

1) イタリア語は話せないんですが、韓国語は話せますよ！ => I cannot speak Italian, but I can speak Korean

2) チェスは出来るけど、囲碁は出来ない！ => I can play Chess, but I cannot play Go!

3) えと、ペンは持って来た、カバンは持って来ていない〜 => Well, I brought a pen, I didn't bring a backpack

As you can see, this should be the only case to have two particles は. My sensei as school told me that sometimes Japanese people use the particle in other situations, but it sound slangish or quite strange. So, for a good language usage, you should avoid repeating particle は (unless you need to put emphasis on some contrast).