おはようございます" та "こんばんは

Anji-san said:

That's interesting. This completely changes my understanding.
Duolingo teaches without getting into the details of boring grammar, which is probably one of the reasons why it is so successful but at the same time, doesn't explain certain things like the above, when I start thinking about what I'm learning rather than just blindly following the chapters. They could have a section with articles about grammar, additional vocabulary for each chapter etc. for people to read, or not. But I guess we can't have everything, and doing an independent research is part of the learning process.
Thank you for the explanation.

Would you be able to provide versions alternative to Duolingo to the below?
I like cats
I have a cat
I want a cat

If I started a conversation with someone about the topics I've already learnt and was using the sentence structure from Duolingo, would that sound unnatural, or stiff?

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• が (ga) identifies the subject of the sentence. Think of it as highlighting what is doing the action or what is being described.
• Example:

• があります for things → Apāto ga arimasu. ("I have an apartment.")
• がいます for people/pets → Neko ga imasu. ("I have a cat.")

• が (ga) marks the subject of the sentence (what exists, what you like, what you want).
• The verb/adjective after が tells you the nature of the statement:

mdchachi said:

I ran your question through DeepSeek for fun and the answer is impressive.

The "ga" you're noticing is a subject marker particle in Japanese, not part of the verbs themselves. It marks the subject of a sentence (what the sentence is about). Let's break this down:

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### 1. The Role of が (ga)

• が (ga) identifies the subject of the sentence. Think of it as highlighting what is doing the action or what is being described.
• Example:

- Kyodai ga imasu ka? = "Do you have siblings?"
Here, kyodai (siblings) is marked by ga as the subject: "Regarding siblings, do they exist (for you)?"

---

### 2. Key Patterns with が (ga)
#### A. が + あります (ga arimasu) / が + います (ga imasu): "To have/There is"
- があります (ga arimasu) = For inanimate objects (e.g., clothes, furniture).
- Kuruma ga arimasu. = "I have a car."
- がいます (ga imasu) = For animate beings (e.g., siblings, pets).
- Kyodai ga imasu. = "I have siblings."

Why Duolingo uses both "ga arimasu" and "ga imasu":

• があります for things → Apāto ga arimasu. ("I have an apartment.")
• がいます for people/pets → Neko ga imasu. ("I have a cat.")

#### B. が + 好きです (ga suki desu): "To like"
- が好きです = Marks what you like.
- Nihongo ga suki desu. = "I like Japanese."

#### C. が + ほしいです (ga hoshii desu): "To want"
- がほしいです = Marks what you want.
- Kuruma ga hoshii desu. = "I want a car."

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### 3. Why "ga" Confuses Learners
In English, we say "I have a car," but Japanese flips this to "Car exists (for me)." The particle ga highlights the thing you have (car/siblings) as the subject, not "you."

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### 4. Key Takeaway

• が (ga) marks the subject of the sentence (what exists, what you like, what you want).
• The verb/adjective after が tells you the nature of the statement:

- あります/います → Existence ("have")
- 好きです → Liking
- ほしいです → Wanting

---

### Examples to Compare
| English | Japanese (Literal) | Structure |
|---------|--------------------|-----------|
| "I have a sister." | Imōto ga imasu. | Sister (が) exists. |
| "I like cats." | Neko ga suki desu. | Cats (が) are liked. |
| "I want coffee." | Kōhī ga hoshii desu. | Coffee (が) is wanted. |

This pattern is consistent across many Japanese expressions! Let me know if you'd like more examples.

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Anji-san said:

So it looks like that Japanese don't have a word for "have", meaning ownership, or a connection (like siblings, which you don't really "own")
And that it's impersonal too.

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Anji-san said:

So "I have a sister" and "she has a sister" both could be "imōto ga imasu". Unless stated "she" specifically like; "kanojo wa imōto ga imasu". Am I correct?

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mdchachi said:

For have/ownership they use these existence verbs often but they also use 持つ (motsu) which can take on a variety of meanings including to hold, carry, possess and have. But it wouldn't be used for things like sisters. motsu has more of a connotation of ownership and physical presence. So how about this:
I have an umbrella but I don't have it now.
[私は]傘がありますが今持っていません。
[watashi ha] kasa ga arimasu ga ima motteimasen.


Yes, exactly. By the way imōto means younger sister specifically, not just sister.

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