N3 · Particles
は and が in depth
contrastive は, exhaustive が and the subject of a clause
は also contrasts, が also means "it is this one", and inside a clause the subject takes が.
Contrastive は. Put on something that is not the natural topic, は sets it against something else, said or unsaid: お酒は飲みません, "alcohol I do not drink" — other things I do. It can follow other particles — 東京には, 友達とは, ここでは — and it replaces が and を. In negative sentences this contrastive は appears very often, because denying one thing implies others.
Exhaustive が. Where the subject itself is the new information, が means "it is X — and nobody else": 私が田中です is what you say when someone asks which of you is Mr Tanaka. That is why が in a place where は is expected sounds as if you were singling something out.
Clauses. Inside a clause that describes a noun, or one built with とき, から, ので, たら and the like, the subject normally takes が, not は: 母が作った料理, 私が子どもだったころ. はreaches across the whole sentenceがstays inside its clause: 私は、兄が帰ってきたとき、寝ていました — I was asleep when my brother came home.
States. With 好き, 嫌い, 上手, 分かる, できる and ほしい, the thing that English treats as the object is the subject of the state in Japanese and takes が: 私は猫が好きです. In a negative or a contrast, that が in turn becomes は: 犬は好きじゃありません.
The form
| contrast | ビールは飲みますが、ワインは飲みません。 |
| は after another particle | 東京には行ったことがありますが、大阪にはありません。 |
| exhaustive が | 「どなたが田中さんですか。」「私が田中です。」 |
| subject of a relative clause | 母が作ったケーキはおいしいです。 |
| subject of a time clause | 私は、兄が帰ってきたとき、寝ていました。 |
| が with liking | 私は猫が好きです。 |
| が with understanding | 弟は中国語が分かります。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
は on a word that is not the natural topic sets it against something else.
平日は忙しいですが、週末は暇です。I am busy on weekdays, but free at weekends.
は can follow に, で, と and から; it replaces が and を.
この店ではカードが使えません。You cannot pay by card in this shop.
Where the subject is the new information, が singles it out: "it is X that …".
「誰が窓を割ったの。」「弟が割ったんです。」"Who broke the window?" "It was my younger brother."
Inside a clause that describes a noun or sets a time or a reason, the subject takes が.
友達が住んでいる町に行きました。I went to the town where my friend lives.
With 好き, 嫌い, 上手, 分かる, できる and ほしい, the thing liked or understood takes が.
私は数学がよく分かりません。I do not understand maths very well.
A closer look
Old information and new
A useful way to see both particles at once: は marks what speaker and listener already share, and the new part of the sentence follows it; が marks the new part itself. That is why something is first introduced with が and then carried on with は: 駅の前に新しいカフェができました。そのカフェは朝七時から開いています。
English does the same job with articles: "a new café" when it first appears, "the café" afterwards. When you translate, が often corresponds to "a" and は to "the" — not as a rule, but as a hint that the two languages are solving the same problem with different tools.
Exceptions and special cases (2)
-
a clause describes a noun
its subject can take の instead of が: 母の作った料理.
背の高い人が私の兄です。The tall man is my older brother.
Inside a noun phrase Japanese lets the possessive particle mark the subject; it sounds slightly softer and is very common in set descriptions.
-
a sentence is negative
は often replaces が or を even without an obvious contrast: 小銭はありません.
すみません、今、小銭はありません。Sorry, I do not have any change at the moment.
A negative denies one thing against a background of others, which is exactly what contrastive は expresses.
How to spot it
- 〜は〜が
- には
- では
- とは
- 〜が好き
- 〜が分かる
- 〜ができる
- 〜が〜とき
Example sentences
肉は食べませんが、魚は食べます。I do not eat meat, but I do eat fish.
この辺にはコンビニがありません。There is no convenience store round here.
私が一番早く着きました。I was the one who arrived first.
父が撮った写真を見せてください。Please show me the photos my father took.
雨が降っているので、今日は家にいます。It is raining, so I am staying at home today.
兄はスポーツが得意ですが、私は苦手です。My older brother is good at sport, but I am not.
8 more example sentences
日本には大きな島が四つあります。Japan has four large islands.
田中さんとは昨日話しました。As for Mr Tanaka, I talked to him yesterday.
私が学生だったころ、この駅はとても小さかったです。When I was a student, this station was very small.
弟は料理が上手です。My younger brother is a good cook.
会議の時間が変わったことを知っていますか。Do you know that the time of the meeting has changed?
ワインは好きですが、ビールはあまり好きではありません。I like wine, but I am not very keen on beer.
私が言いたいのは、そういうことではありません。That is not what I am trying to say.
日本語が少しできます。I can speak a little Japanese.
Worth knowing (1)
-
The whole meaning in one particle
The choice can carry the whole message of a reply. Asked 誰が行きますか, the answer 私が行きます volunteers: "I will go". 私は行きます in the same place would mean "I am going, at any rate" — and hint that others may not be.
「誰か手伝ってくれませんか。」「私がやります。」"Could someone help?" "I will do it."
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
In a clause that describes a noun — "the cake I made" — the subject belongs to the clause, and a clause subject takes が (or の). With は the listener hears "I" as the topic of the whole sentence, and it falls apart: who is supposed to eat the cake?
は reaches across the sentence and contrasts; が stays inside its clause and singles out.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.