Nihongo no Oshaberi 日本語のおしゃべり

Japanese Language
「Particles」
「Part 3」

「GA・が」
「Part 1」

Ga indicates the subject of the sentence, or when used with specific verbs and adjectives, the topic.

「１」

Indicates existence; used with verbs such as aru・ある, gozaimasu・ございます, iru・いる, irassharu・いらっしゃる,

Examples:
あそこに私のボールペンがありますか。
Asoko ni watashi no bōrupen ga arimasu ka.
Is my ball-point pen over there?

あそこに郵便局があります。
Asoko ni yūbin-kyoku ga arimasu.
There's a post office over there.

私の会社には、女のひとが50人以上います。
Watashi no kaisha ni wa, onna no hito gojū-nin ijō imasu.
There are more than fifty women in my company.

Note: Wa can replace Ga in such sentences when something is being contrasted, or when information is being presented about a subject already identified.

Examples:
私のボールペンはあそこにありますか。
Watashi no bōrupen wa asoko ni arimasen ka.
Is my ball-point pen over there?

郵便局はどこにありますか。
(郵便局は)駅の前にあります。
Yūbin-kyoku wa doko ni arimasu ka.
(Yūbin-kyoku wa) eki no mae ni arimasu.
Where is the post office?
(The post office is) in front of the station.

Note: the part in the last example indicated in the parenthesis does not need to be said by the person answering the question, due to the context of the answer indicating where the post office is.

∩`･◇･)　こゆうきあいはら　∩`･◇･)