Difference between arimasu and desu

[prt1987]

Hi,

I have just started learning japanese. Can anyone please explain what is the difference between:
1) koko ni nani ga arimas ka.
and
2) koko wa nan desu ka.

 

[Toritoribe]

1)
What is there at this place?

It's asking about thing(s) / equipment(s) / facilities located on this place. It can be used also for abstruct things such like power.

2)
What is this place? / What is this place for?

It's asking about the place itself.

 

[prt1987]

Thanks Toritoribe.

Am I correct to understand that particle 'ni' in the first sentence conveys the meaning of 'at'?

If I write the first sentence as koko ni nani ga desu ka? will it change the meaning?

I am also a little bit confused between the usage or wa and ga. From what I understand, wa is used when the emphasis is on the topic in the sentence, whereas ga is used when the emphasis is on the subject.

In the sentence what is at this place, we have used ga to put the emphasis on something at that place. In the second sentence we have chose to use wa to make place as the topic of the sentence.

I am not sure if I am making sense, but is there any definitive set of rules we can follow to decide when to use wa or ga

 

[Glenn]

If I write the first sentence as koko ni nani ga desu ka? will it change the meaning?

Yes, it will change the meaning. It would be fine only in certain contexts, like if someone had said that there was an umbrella there, and you heard everything but the "umbrella" part, and wanted to ask what it was that they said was there. In English it would be something like

A: There's an umbrella here.
B: There's a what here?

I am also a little bit confused between the usage or wa and ga.

This is a huge can of worms. Generally, here are the guidelines.

Wa:
1. Used to introduce the topic of a sentence. This is old, known, or general information. Typically it's been mentioned before in the discourse or is something the speaker assumes to be general and common knowledge. E.g., much like in English we would say "the sun is big", in Japanese you would usually say taiyou wa ookii. Generally, when wa is used this way, it's similar to English "the".

2. Used to mark a contrast. This is an emphasis, but it's different from the ga emphasis. E.g., niku wa tabemasen ga, sakana wa tabemasu. I'm assuming Japanese makes this distinction between "meat" and "fish".

Ga:
1. Used to mark the subject of a sentence or clause. It's a general description of something new or assumed to be unknown to the listener. Jon ga kita is the sentence I've seen used to exemplify this usage most frequently. Ame ga futte iru would be another example.

2. Used to mark a focus. This is an emphasis where you're putting the focus on a particular thing. For example, koko ga watashi no ie desu would be more like "this is my house," and koko wa watashi no ie desu more like "this is my house."

3. Used to mark the object of certain stative verbs, like wakaru, dekiru, mieru, kikoeru, and potential forms, as well as two-place (transitive) adjectives, like suki, urayamashii, kirai, etc.

To be honest, I'm not totally comfortable with them, but I'm pretty sure this is a good start. I'm sure any mistakes I've made will be corrected. I certainly hope they will, anyway.