Can someone explain Japanese grammar to me? Specifically the particles. です , が and は. I see them… - Feed Post by empiresx
Can someone explain Japanese grammar to me? Specifically the particles. です , が and は. I see them in sentences all the time yet I dont understand their meaning.
私 は ラーメン が 好き {です}。 ( I like Ramen )
ビール {が} ほしい。 ( I want a beer )
Can you explain the { } parts in context.
Thank you to all who try to help in advance! I love you guys.
私 は ラーメン が 好き {です}。 ( I like Ramen )
ビール {が} ほしい。 ( I want a beer )
Can you explain the { } parts in context.
Thank you to all who try to help in advance! I love you guys.
posted by empiresx
Comments 9
が and は mark the subject, they appear after the subject of the sentence. for now, ignore the difference between them, it isn't important until later, and has to do with whether you are emphasizing the subject or the verb. desu basically just means 'is' (also 'are' or 'am' depending on the case -- forms of the verb to be).
this is basic stuff from like chapter one of any japanese textbook, i'd recommend going through one of those before using this site. this site is mainly to learn kanji, kana, and vocabulary, but knowing basic grammar like this should probably come first.- but if you want a direct translation of those sentences that explain what the bracketed points mean, here's my attempt (my translations purposefully use questionable grammar):
i {am} liking the ramen
{as for} the beer, i want it - or perhaps two more ways to put it:
a liking for ramen {exists}.
{speaking of} beer, i want it.
it is kind of hard to directly translate grammatical terms though. 
Yes sorry for my noobiness. I have only been self learning for 2 months now and really I have just been learning vocabulary and kanji. I am just now getting around to learning grammar. Thank you for your explanation because I totally understand it now! :)
1. です- it means essentially - (It is). Eg: ラメンです。(It is ramen). Also です is for formal speech so in many cases sentences can be said without です。Eg: 元気?(げんき) Are you well?
2. は and が can be used interchangeably as they are both topic markers. They both mark the subject of the sentence: Eg: けい君は寿司を食べる(けいくんはすしをたべる)。Kei-kun is eating sushi. The は、 is marking the topic of the sentence which is kei-kun.
3. が is used for strong emphasis of the subject. However すき and ほしい almost always used the が particle. It's just the rule.
I hope this helps a little ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
You really need to actually study grammar in order to understand it fully. There are lots of resources out there for learning grammar I recommend Tae kim's guide personally.
After some study and understanding of grammar you need practice. I made a cheat sheet a while back to help with the practice part that could also be used just for basic understanding if you want.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8nJGLSr8CgQemM0Rk5yX3g2YlE/edit?usp=sharing
if u really want to learn japanese gramatic and even more actually just japenese go to yesjapan.com for me the best site to learn japanese u just wont learn the kanjis there but hey thats what this site is there for :D- MintyHippo, your graphs explain grammar better than Tae Kim could ever hope to.
- The cheat sheet is just super basic stuff, I plan to add more eventually. Glad you liked it ^^
