jpn-particles-1

Basic Japanese sentence structure

topic (wa) → [other particles / adverbs] → verb

topic

wa

time / destination / location of existence

ni

object

(w)o

subject

ga

co-participant

(to)

means / location

de

origin

kara

direction

(h)e

end-point

made

topic (wa) vs subject (ga)

• wa = "As for..."

  • Example: Tanaka-san wa gakusei desu.

  • (As for Tanaka, he is a student.)
    

• ga = "It is... that..."

  • Example: Tanaka-san ga gakusei desu.

  • (It is Tanaka that is the student.)
    

• 💡 The Takeaway:

  Use wa to talk about something.

  Use ga to point out which specific one did it.

possession

no