Questions tagged [particle-は]
助詞「は」. Indicates the topic of a sentence or shows contrast in the universe of discourse.
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1answer
714 views
The difference between 時 and 時は
I know that it's correct to use は after 時, and it's also correct to omit it. For example:
子供の 時、よく海で泳ぎました。
子供の 時は、よく海で泳ぎました。
How does the meaning of the sentence change when the particle is ...
2
votes
0answers
28 views
The particle は before 押す [duplicate]
スイッチは押しましたか。
Can を be used in place of は here? (Have you pressed the switch? / Did you press the switch?)
押す is a transitive verb, so the use of は is confusing. Thank you for your help!
2
votes
1answer
102 views
How to specify a day and a shop/office/etc. when asking for business hours? [closed]
I'm very sorry this is a very basic Question, I just started learning japanese as my third language (german being my native one and english my second) and Right now I learned a basic way of asking for ...
3
votes
1answer
159 views
Omission of the particle は
山本さん、会社を辞めるそうですよ。
In the sentence above there is no は after 山本さん.
Can we say 山本さんは会社を辞めるそうですよ？
If we can, does the omission of は mean lack of formality?
I have come across another sentence similar ...
3
votes
1answer
69 views
と particle in the subject of a sentence
To translate :
My friend and I are going to the park.
, the following sentence can be used :
私{わたし}は友達{ともだち}と公園{こうえん}に行{い}きます。
Literally :
I am going to the park with my friend.
と is used ...
2
votes
0answers
100 views
ではない in Relative Clauses
I have read in several sources that it is grammatically incorrect to use は (topic particle) in relative clauses. However, I am almost certain that I have seen constructions like the following:
...
2
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1answer
66 views
は vs.では in こんなうるさいところでは勉強ができません
こんなうるさいところでは勉強ができません。
How is the meaning of the sentence above different from the meaning of the one below?
こんなうるさいところで勉強ができません。
3
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1answer
90 views
私には versus 私は - difference in nuance?
Can anyone help explaining the nuance in difference between:
私はまったく分かりません。
私にはまったく分かりません。
With expressions such as ヨーロッパには行く (versus は) I can see what affect including the に particle within the ...
5
votes
2answers
129 views
Changing を to は in negative statements
I've got confused and have a few questions:
In some situations speaker is obligated to change the particle e.g. answering yes/no questions.
Question: あなたはくじにひこうきにのりますか。(A)
Answer: いいえ、わたしはくじ ...
2
votes
1answer
92 views
The use of が, は and を in 私は総てを愛している
Is the を interchangeable with が in this case?
And if I say 私が総てを愛している does it mean 'I'm everything that I love'?
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2answers
1k views
What could a phrase like アルコールはダメなんだ possibly mean?
The phrase アルコールはダメなんだ is from a manga I read, in which a guy responds to his friend when being asked if he wants a beer. He appears not to be into alcohol, even goes so far to say that "I don't like ...
2
votes
2answers
106 views
Is there any rule to indicate when “circumstantials” of time can be the topic (marked with は) of the sentence?
In Spanish there is something called circumstantials which indicate time, place, means, cause, etc where an action is done. For example, in English a circumstancial of time could be translated as "in ...
3
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0answers
86 views
Why is there sometimes a は used in conjugated, negative, formal i-adjectives? [duplicate]
A few times now, I have seen a negative i-adjective with a は in between the く and the ありません. I have seen it usually present when it is a response to a question. Like the example below.
いいえ、車は赤くはありません。...
6
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1answer
98 views
Question about the phrase 心配いりません
I came across the phrase 心配いりません and from what I understand it means "Dont worry". It is formed by using the する-verb 心配 (worry) and いる (to be needed). What I don't understand is why there is no ...
2
votes
1answer
115 views
誰はしました。Who did it?
I'm aware that する is the Japanese verb "To do". In order to conjugate this verb using the Ta form for past tense we of course just replace する with し and add our polite form ます with the た to make しました, ...
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1answer
81 views
A question about the usage of ては and ても
Why can't use も or は in the following sentence:
易しい質問に答えられなくて（は・も）、とても恥ずかしかった。
In the case of ても, I was told it probably has to do with 逆条件.
2
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3answers
158 views
Can は imply more than just topic?
On https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/ha-vs-ga-five-points-you-need-to-know/ there is this sentence:
オレンジは好き
It’s explained as “this indicates that you like oranges, but don’t like other ...
4
votes
3answers
174 views
Sentence topic without grammatical function
From here:
このスポーツは、海の上を走る水上オートバイから足に付けたボードにホースで水を送って、ボードから出る水の強い力で空中を飛びます。
In this sport you fly through the air using the force of water ejected from a board attached to the feet. Water is sent ...
1
vote
1answer
49 views
Confusion about omitted “object” with 有する
I just read this clause (as a definition of 独特):
そのものだけが有していること。
I first understood it in a way, that "[Something] has only this thing.", instead "Only this thing has [something]".
Now I'm kind of ...
4
votes
2answers
170 views
は with 好き exception?
I'm studying japanese, and found this phrase:
漢字を書くのが嫌いだけど読むのは好きです。
I was thought that the particle that is always with 好き is が but in this case is は, is there an explanation for this???
8
votes
2answers
155 views
What is the purpose of はある in this sentence?
顔の大きさの半分はあるであろう大きなマスク。(source)
I've been told that this sentence is describing the size of the mask being half the size of the face, Can't we simply say 「顔の大きさの半分であろう大きなマスク」 instead?
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votes
0answers
43 views
Confusion on は being used [duplicate]
So the sentence is " そういう相手は力で叩き潰して教えるに限る" which translates to "people like you need to be crushed by force." I'm confused on why it isn't written as"そういう相手を"。If は is used could it also be translated ...
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vote
0answers
48 views
Trouble with 出ては消え in this sentence [duplicate]
I think I understand the meaning thanks to the context, but I don't understand why the first verb is in te form and the second in masu stem after a は particle(i.e.,I don't understand the structure ...
1
vote
1answer
106 views
Should emphasis follow the copula or move to the topic marker?
I recently tried machine translated the following:
This is amazing. This is amazing.
And was surprised when the result was:
これは素晴らしいです。これは素晴らしいです。
I kind of expected the second example to come ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
What do ほかには and ほかのは mean?
What do ほかには and ほかのは mean? How are they different from one another?
And why is に used in ほかに? Is there an explanation for it or is it just naturally said? Thanks!
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votes
2answers
309 views
What is the difference between “を” and “は”? Can I say both “お茶を飲みます。” and “お茶は飲みます。”?
I'm aware that I can say "お茶を飲みます。" (with the particle "を") to convey the meaning "I drink tea." in the sense of indicating that an action is taking place.
However, I'd like to know if I can also say ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
Why do we need “は” in “とは思う”
I do not know the grammatical meaning of "は" and when to add a "は" in between the quotative particle and the verb, namely "とは思う".
Here is the example sentence without "は",
...
3
votes
2answers
998 views
「は」と「を」の違いは何ですか。
私の日本語の本によると、「を」の代わりに「は」を使う事が出来ます。でも、いつ使えますか。ニュアンスは何が変わりますか。
例えば:
肉を食べますか → 肉は食べますか。
子供たちはカレーを作っている。→ カレーは子供たちが作っている。
1
vote
1answer
96 views
Function of particles の and は in this sentence
A girls tells this to her friend:
このまま帰ってまた何日も会えなくなるのは嫌です
What are these particles doing here? は is being used to emphasize, to be the topic marker or the contrastive marker? My guess is that is ...
1
vote
2answers
134 views
は after adverbs
I don' understand what it means/adds on these sentences, since there's an adverb before them and the particle can be omitted and it still makes sense
今は...しない
目の前でこんなに弱られたら誰だって少しは優しくなりますよ
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votes
5answers
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Why does 悪く(は)ない give a condescending feeling?
I thought it just meant "It's not bad" but I read some comments from Japanese people who said that it can sound too condescending or like the speaker feels superior to the listener. Why is that? In ...
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vote
1answer
88 views
How can I tell if a は is the particle は and therefore should be pronounced わ?
On page 82 and 83 of Japanese for Busy People II (third edition), there's the following sentence (written mainly in kana with only a small amount of kanji)
ミルズ：ええ。じつはちょっとねつがあるんです。さっき薬を買ってきて飲んだんですが…。（...
4
votes
1answer
208 views
に->には / で->では etc
My question is kinda simple (I hope).
When somebody asks you, for example:
学生りょうにＴＶがありますか。
Can you answer:
台所にはありますが、部屋にはありません。
Or do you use:
台所にありますが、部屋にはありません。
Can you also explain ...
7
votes
1answer
696 views
About は particle and the 'contrast' it implies
I started learning Japanese about 2 months ago and today, while talking with a friend of mine who has been studying Japanese for about two years, he gave me this example scenario about は particle and ...
2
votes
2answers
102 views
Confused when determining the correct subject with 思います [duplicate]
I met the following sentence :
あなたのお母さんは私が好きじゃないと思います
I think your mother doesn't like me.
As far I can tell, あなたのお母さん is the subject or topic marker of the sentence. But at the end of the ...
2
votes
1answer
161 views
Are there some cases where は and が are interchangable?
I understand that は and が can be very different in meaning & emotion, and some structures require one of them. However, are there some cases where I can use either of them but the sentence remains ...
3
votes
1answer
77 views
Deconstructing this format: AことはBことがあります
I was doing an N5 test, and this construction came up:
山田さんは大変いいひとですよ。(Context)
何も悪いことは聞いたことがありません。(Construction in question)
While I understand the meaning alright (Nothing bad about 田中さん was ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
Would someone mind checking my translation of -だか and a contrastive は?
If anyone is willing, I'd like to check my reading of the following sentence:
ところが夜だかは、ほんとうは鷹の兄弟でも親類でもありませんでした。
"However, for a number of nights, there is a lie that [he] is a family member or even ...
4
votes
3answers
284 views
Does 私は地震が怖い make sense?
私は地震が怖い。
For me that's like saying 私は彼がきれいです.
It doesn't make sense putting 私 here.
5
votes
1answer
289 views
Is writing the “wa particle” as は a modern convention?
Recently, I was given a copy of Complete Course of Japanese Conversation-Grammar by Oreste and Enko Elisa Vaccari. As it dates back to 1967, I was expecting at least a few things to be a bit old-...
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2answers
124 views
What is the inheritance order of も and は topics?
Can a topic that is identified via the も particle be included in a は topic that comes AFTER it?
e.g. Two sequential sentences from a book I'm reading:
1st Sentence: ほかの鳥は、もう、よだかの顔を見ただけでも、...
3
votes
1answer
142 views
4x“は” as Contrast Marker
Is the following sentence O.K.?
そのようなブラシ付モーターが、
高い回転数領域では、確かに、優れた出力性能は発揮しますが、
惜しい事に、定常作動に於いては、結局、十分な静的性能は発揮しないという結果となります。
I am using for times "は" as contrast marker to indicate two contrasts.
...
0
votes
1answer
229 views
Proper Use of “は” and “が” Noun
I am really despairing. Recently, I was forwarded a link by
my Japanese colleague. It is about the proper use of "は" and "が".
https://www.alc.co.jp/jpn/article/faq/03/19.html
What is stated here, ...
2
votes
2answers
96 views
Why is this は positioned like that here?
For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/web_tokushu/2018_0202.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-closeup_002
The sentence in question:
山田さんによると、八王子は何度か大規模な火災に見舞われ、戦時中は大規模な空襲も受けたことから、...
2
votes
1answer
155 views
I don't understand why my は was changed to a に when a native corrected my sentence
My sentence: 彼はこれを出来るなら僕は矢っ張り出来る
Correction: 彼にそれが出来るなら、僕にもできる
I can understand the rest of the changes, but why はー＞に ? All they said was that it sounded more natural but they weren't sure why. ...
2
votes
2answers
114 views
For phrases modifying nouns, is the subject considered part of the modifier or separate?
Oftentimes I see phrases such as this in songs and such:
僕は迷い込んだ夢の中
I always interpreted these as the first part all modifying the noun, i.e. "Inside the dream I was lost in," here. However, when I ...
2
votes
1answer
298 views
tamago o yoku tabemasu
tamago o yoku tabemasu.
kudamono wa amari tabemasen.
Why for the first sentence with tamago, the particle "o" is used
where as for the second sentence with kudamono, particle "wa" is used?
1
vote
1answer
92 views
Difference between ”が”はじまる and ”は”はじまる [duplicate]
I asked my teacher why is "が”はじまる instead of ”は”はじまる. She said "が” is always put before はじまる. But she said there are circumstances that ”は” is put before はじまる too. She said there are rules meanwhile ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
Particle は seems like it should be を in this sentence
So I'm translating this song (https://www5.atwiki.jp/hmiku/pages/31606.html) and the particle usage in a line confused me:
チョコレート中毒さ それはもう大変な (this is just for context)
Chocolate poisoning, it's ...
0
votes
1answer
75 views
Inferred particles - should I infer は or に in this sentence?
I was translating this song (https://www5.atwiki.jp/hmiku/pages/31606.html) and there was a line that didn't make sense without an inferred particle, but I'm not sure which particle to infer.
(...
