The most confusing aspect of the (Ga が) particle is the difference between Wa は and Gaが. Japanese particle Ga is the subject Marker and Wa is the topic marker.
Contents
Japanese particle ga (が) marks the subject of the sentence
But wait, what’s the difference between the topic and the subject? Well according to the experts:
- Topic: a non-grammatical context for the whole sentence.
- Subject: a grammatical relationship only to the verb.
Ok so in all honestly this is very difficult for all learners. So we are going to start off by looking at a simple sentence structure to try and grasp this better.
We are going to learn to say “I like” or “dislike” something We will be able to see here both wa and ga at play in one sentence.
私は本が好きです。
Watashi wa hon ga suki desu
わたしはほんがすきです
I like books
Watashi わたしthe topic of the sentence, marked by Wa は (The topic marker).Waは the topic marker.Honほん – book . Ga the subject marker – Gaが comes after the subject. Ga がis marking the subject of which the topic has a relationship with. I (The topic) likes Books (The Subject)
Let’s look at some more examples
Watashi wa anata ga suki desu.
私はあなたが好きです
わたしはあなたがすきです
I like you
わたし”I” the topic
あなた”You” the Subject
Now we can swap that around too so the subject and topic swap places.
あなたは私が好きです
あなたはわたしがすきです
You like me.
Examples of Japanese particle ga
Okay lets do some more sentences to help with saying I like and dislike, reinforcing the usage of the GA がparticle.
貴方は本がきらいです
あなたはほんがきらいです
Anata wa hon ga kirai desu
You don’t like books
僕は飲み物が好きだ
ぼくはのみものがすきだ
Boku wa nomimono ga suki da
I like drinks
君は食べ物が好きだ。
きみはたべものがすきだ。
Kimi wa tabemono ga suki da
You like food
私は物がきらいです
わたしはものがきらいです
Watashi wa mono ga kirai desu
I don’t like things
父は母が好きです
ちちはははがすきです
Chichi wa ha haha suki desu
Father likes mother
Lastly, you don’t always have to use 私はwatashi wa僕は boku wa, If the listener understands already that we are talking about you then it’s not necessary
For example
Watashi wa hon ga suki desu = Hon ga suki desu
私は本が好きだ ＝ 本が好きだ
If the listener already understand the context of the conversation you don’t always have to use the topic. Remember this is the first basic usage of GA が the subject marker. We will cover the others at a later date, for now ensure you master this usage!
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