This guide heavily borrows concepts and examples from Hisashi Noda’s (野田尚史) published works『｢は｣ と ｢が｣』(1996) and『文の構造と機能からみた日本語の主題』(1998), including his model for the nine sentence structures and their syntax. The flowchart model is loosely based on the flowchart in these books. Unless explicitly mentioned, all examples I feature here are examples from these two books. If you wish to go further into this topic, I recommend purchasing a copy of『｢は｣ と ｢が｣』.
The Primary Functions of は and が
Topic-marking は
The Japanese language has a special concept known as the topic. As its name implies, the topic is simply something that the speaker is broadly talking about. In Japanese, the topic is typically marked by は. That means whatever comes immediately before は is a topic. Once a topic has been introduced in Japanese, it can even persist across the end of its sentence and set the general theme for the following sentences. Almost all sentences that have a topic marked by は in Japanese take the structure of:
Topic+は+Comment
Whatever comes after topic-marking は is known as a comment, which is something we want to say about the topic. The comment contains the focus of the sentence, so it expresses information the speaker wants the listener to know about the topic.
Subject-marking が
A subject is one of two main components of a sentence, the other being the predicate. The subject is usually a noun; and the predicate is usually a noun, adjective, or verb. The subject in Japanese is typically marked by が. A sentence with a subject may look like:
Subject+が+Predicate
Topicalization
All kinds of words may become a topic in Japanese. When は marks some word in Japanese, we say that the word has been topicalized. That is, it has been made into a topic through the process of topicalization. After some part of the sentence is topicalized, it will usually appear at the front of the sentence.
It is very common for は to topicalize a subject. This is where the confusion between は and が comes from. When a subject is marked by は, this does not mean it has ceased to be a subject. It is both a topic and subject at the same time.
The subject is not the only part of a sentence that は can topicalize. The most common parts of the sentence to be topicalized are case particles and the nouns that they mark. Nouns that are marked by case particles are known as case-marked nouns. You may already be familiar with all of the case particles. There are nine of them: が, を, に, で, へ, と, から, より, and まで.
What sets が and を apart from other common case particles is that they are deleted from the noun completely when the noun they are marking is topicalized. In other words, you’ll never hear ｢×ここがは～｣ or ｢×ここをは～｣. The case particles に, で, and へ are also often deleted.
| Case-Marked Noun + は | Topicalized Result |
|---|---|
| ここが + は | ここは |
| ここを + は | ここは |
| ここに + は | ここには or ここは |
| ここで + は | ここでは or ここは |
| ここへ + は | ここへは or ここは |
| ここと + は | こことは |
| ここから + は | ここからは |
| ここまで + は | ここまでは |
The topic and the subject exist on different dimensions in Japanese.1 A word can be a topic and subject at the same time, but all subjects are not necessarily topics, and all topics are not necessarily subjects. You will see examples of this dynamic in the topicalization diagrams once we start covering basic sentence structures.
The Secondary Functions of は and が
Contrastive は
Contrastive は is a special usage of は that contrasts what it’s marking with something else. When a speaker uses contrastive は, they’re pointing out a difference about what it marks with some other thing, whether or not that other thing is explicitly mentioned.
1. 子供たちはカレーは作っているが、ごはんはまだ炊いていない。
The kids are making curry, but the rice is not even cooked yet.
The two underlined は in example (1) above are uses of contrastive は. This sentence contrasts the state of the curry “カレーは作っている” (the curry is being made) with the state of the rice “ごはんはまだ炊いていない” (the rice is not cooked yet). In general, when there are two or more は in a clause, the first は may or may not be contrastive, and the は following the first は are increasingly contrastive.
2. 子供たちはカレーは作っている。
The kids are making curry, but…
The example above is a sentence with one contrastive は. Even though the making of curry is not explicitly being compared against something else, the contrastive は here implies that there is some other thing that has not been cooked yet.
Exclusive が
You may have also heard this form of が referred to before as exhaustive-listing が, or exhaustive が.
Exclusive が is a special usage of が that emphasizes what it’s marking. The subject that exclusive が marks is singled out from a set of other possible things. Those other things may or may not be explicitly stated. In other words, everything else except for what exclusive が marks is excluded from consideration.
3. 大阪より神戸のほうがいい店がある。
Kobe has way better stores than Osaka.
The sentence above clarifies that it’s not Osaka, but Kobe that has better stores.
You’ll learn more about exclusive が when we go over the ｢君が主役だ。｣ structure and the Principle of Emphasis.
Sentence Structure
All sentences in Japanese that use は or が can be categorized into one of nine structures, each represented by one of the following sentences.
- ｢父はこの本を買ってくれた。｣
- ｢象は鼻が長い。｣
- ｢かき料理は広島が本場だ。｣
- ｢辞書は新しいのがいい。｣
- ｢花が咲くのは7月ごろだ。｣
- ｢この問題は解くのが難しい。｣
- ｢このにおいはガスが漏れてるよ。｣
- ｢富士山が見えるよ。｣
- ｢君が主役だ。｣
The first seven structures are called は structures because they all contain topic-marking は. The last two structures are called が structures because they only contain が. viii uses subject-marking が, and ix uses exclusive が. In the following chapter, we will learn about the three structures in bold, as these are the most basic and common sentence structures in Japanese. The rest of the structures will be introduced in Additional は Structures.
By familiarizing yourself with the prototypical sentence structures of Japanese grammar, my hope is that you’ll be able to read a sentence and figure out what は or が is doing in that sentence. In chapters 2 through 6 of this series, you’ll learn why one particle is used over the other, and how we can use that knowledge to choose between using は and が.
｢父はこの本を買ってくれた。｣: Basic Topic Sentences
父はこの本を買ってくれた。
My dad bought this book for me.
The first structure we’ll learn about is the simplest of all the は structures. It’s what we get when we topicalize a case-marked noun (anything marked by the case particles が, を, に, etc.) or an adverb.
The following diagram shows the topicalization of the subject “父” (dad) in the case structure ｢父がこの本を買ってくれた(こと)｣. This leads to the sentence ｢父はこの本を買ってくれた。｣.
The “こと” in the diagram above represents that this part isn’t being interpreted as a spoken sentence, but as a precursor to the sentence, a case structure.
Remember that は can also mark objects, which are generally marked by を. When the object is topicalized, は replaces を. Then, the topic is moved to the beginning of the sentence. Just like the subject, the object doesn’t stop being an object when it’s topicalized. The following diagram shows the topicalization of the object “この本” (this book) in the case structure ｢父がこの本を買ってくれた(こと)｣. This leads to the sentence ｢この本は父が買ってくれた。｣.
Examples of Basic Topic Sentences
Below are examples of sentences where elements marked with other case markers are topicalized. Remember that when ｢〜に｣, ｢〜で｣, or ｢〜へ｣ are topicalized, they may become ｢〜は｣ instead of ｢〜には｣, ｢〜では｣, or ｢〜へは｣. This happens when ｢〜に｣, ｢〜で｣, or ｢〜へ｣ mark location.
4. 日本に温泉が多い(こと)
↓ Topicalization
日本には温泉が多い。
日本は温泉が多い。
There are a lot of onsen in Japan.
5. 弟に特技がある(こと)
↓ Topicalization
弟には特技がある。
弟は特技がある。
My brother has a special skill.
6. ｢最近まではプロレスラーだったんだ｣ とちびは言った。
“I was a pro wrestler until recently,” said the short one.
7. 海へはあっという間に着いた。
We arrived at the beach in no time.
8. 結局、それ以来彼とは会っていない。
I haven’t met with him since.
9. だが、ヨーロッパでは最近、ペアの両方の内側にダイヤを埋め込んだ既成品の結婚指輪が、一般にも売られるようになってきた。
But in Europe, pairs of wedding rings with diamonds set in both rings have recently become available to the general public.
10. 大きな窓からは日の光が差し込んでいる。
Through the big window, a ray of sunlight cut into the room.
Adverbs that express tense or extent (such as きょう, 今, その頃, いくらか, ほとんど, and 時々) may also be topicalized.
11. 昨日は花子が学校を休んでいた。
Yesterday, Hanako didn’t come to school.
Some usages of ｢〜で｣, ｢〜へ｣, and ｢〜と｣ cannot be topicalized.
12. ×船では, 暇がある学生が沖縄に行った。
13. ？大島とはこのまえ僕がけんかしたよ。
｢富士山が見えるよ。｣: Topicless Sentences
富士山が見えるよ。
I can see Mount Fuji.
｢富士山が見えるよ。｣ is a sentence that does not feature a topic within it. We call these types of sentences topicless sentences. Naturally, the sentences of this structure will have subject-marking が.
Topicless sentences may rely on previous sentences or the environmental context as their topic. We call them topicless sentences because a topic isn’t contained within them, but strictly speaking, they are usually stand-alone comments which mention something about a topic. For example, the topic of ｢富士山が見えるよ。｣ may be a previous sentence like, ｢そこの景色はどうだ？｣ (“How’s the view over there?”). Previous sentences do not need to contain topic-marking は to establish a topic.
These sentences only come up in certain cases. Usually, we may use subject-marking が in topicless sentences when the subject is being introduced to the listener, something unexpected happens, or to change the topic. There are three broad categories of situations where topicless sentences may be used.
Descriptions of Something Perceptible
A sentence fits into this category when it describes something that the speaker can directly see or perceive. These sentences appear often in spoken Japanese.
14. 何か音が聞こえるわ。耳を澄ませて!
I hear something. Listen closely!
15. 月がきれいですね。
Look, isn’t the moon gorgeous?
Sentences that describe perceptible events that will happen very soon also fall into this category.
16. いいか…今…血管がふさがる
Listen… his veins will constrict soon…
Descriptions of Events
A sentence fits into this category when it describes an event that the speaker cannot directly see or perceive. This may be something that happened in the past, right now, or even in the future that the speaker cannot perceive. The event cannot be permanent, it has to happen within a given frame of time. These sentences appear often in written Japanese.
17. きのう合格発表があった。
The exam results were announced yesterday.
Descriptions of Consequences
A sentence fits into this category when it describes something that will happen if some other condition is fulfilled.
18. ボタンを押すと、音が出る。
A sound will play when you press the button.
There is a caveat to this categorization system. Just because a sentence fits into one of these situations, doesn’t necessarily mean the subject will always be marked by が. If some portion of the sentence has been topicalized, it will feature は (in which case, it will fit into one of the は structures). If the subject has been topicalized, が will be dropped completely and be replaced by topic-marking は.
We’ll learn more about when to use a topic in Principle of Subordination and Principle of Topic Presence.
Examples of Topicless Sentences
19. ファーストフードもついにここまで⸺と思わせる ｢さしみバーガー｣が、神戸・
三宮 の高架下で人気を呼んでいる。
These “Sashimi Burgers” served under the railways at Sannomiya, Kobe have been turning heads, and it’ll make you think, “Just how far will they take fast food?”
20. カニといえば冬。が、北の海、オホーツクでは夏の味覚とか。八日朝、オホーツク産のズワイガニが大阪中央卸売市場に初入荷しました。
When it comes to crabs, we think of winter. But in the Sea of Okhotsk to the north, they’re a summer delicacy. On the morning of the 8th, a shipment of snow crabs from Okhotsk arrived at Osaka Central Market for the first time.
21. 松下電器産業が小型の自転車にモーターを組み込んだ ｢電気自転車｣ を八月からテスト販売する。
Panasonic will release its “electric bicycle”, a small, motorized bicycle for test sales starting August.
22. 大阪府豊能郡豊勢町山辺地区の住民から十日夜、｢水道の水が油臭い｣ という苦情が十数件、同町役場に相次いだ。
On the night of the 10th, residents of the Yamabe district of Toyose Town, Toyono District, Osaka Prefecture, complained to the town hall that their tap water smelled oily.
23. ｢そういえば今朝、君が帰ってすぐお袋から電話があったよ｣
“Now that you mention it, my mother did call me this morning as soon as you got home.”
｢君が主役だ。｣: Inverted Topic Sentences
君が主役だ。
You’re the lead actor.
The sentence ｢君が主役だ。｣ has no topic-marking は, but it’d be inaccurate to say that it has no topic.2 The topic here is the predicate, “主役” (lead actor).
This is what we call an inverted sentence.3 This property of the sentence comes from the fact that it uses exclusive が, a different form of が from the subject-marking が we saw in topicless sentences.
Remember that exclusive が functions as a way of emphasizing something. With this usage of が, whatever exclusive が marks is singled out from a set of other things. We are specifying that “You, not someone else, are the lead actor.” However, the nuance of exclusion in this specific sentence is relatively weak, because we haven’t talked about any other person who could be the lead actor in the context of this example (See Types of Exclusion).
One way of interpreting the sentence ｢君が主役だ。｣ is to derive it from the sentence ｢主役は君だ。｣. These two sentences have approximately the same meaning. To achieve this, all we have to do is to reverse the order of the topic and the comment, and then replace は with exclusive が. This process is known as inversion, and it’s why we call sentences of this structure inverted sentences.
A typical topic sentence takes the structure of
Topic+は+Comment
whereas the inversion of this topic sentence will take on the structure
Comment+Exclusive が+Topic
Examples of Inverted Sentences
24. ｢あ、あれが、おれのところに来た女性記者だよ｣
“Sh- She’s the journalist that came to my office!”
25. ｢そこが出口よ。｣と彼女は言った。
“The exit’s that way,” she said.
26. ｢これが君の言っていた大変なことなのかい？｣
“Is this the ‘big problem’ you were getting worked up about?”
27. ｢この映画観ましたよ。｣と僕は言った。
｢誰が出てるの？｣
“I’ve seen this movie before,” I said.
“Who’s in it?”
28. 大阪と京都の境から次第に川幅を広げ、堂々と街を横切りつつ大阪湾に流れ込むのが淀川だ。広々とした河川敷の野草広場には天然記念物のイタセンパラやアユモドキなどの魚をはじめ、多くの野生生物が生息。
The Yodo River gradually widens from the border between Osaka and Kyoto, cutting across cities before flowing into Osaka Bay. The spacious riverbed is home to many wildlife species, including fish such as the deepbody bitterling and the kissing loach, which are designated as natural monuments.
Sometimes, this structure can be used even if there is little exclusive nuance, as in (28). It is used in this case so that the topic, “淀川” (Yodo River) can be placed towards the end, closer to its following sentences which also take “淀川” as a topic.
You’ll learn more about inverted sentences in When to Use Inverted Sentences.
Continued in 2. The Flowchart Model…
Notes
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Noda (1996) proposes that topic-marking は exists on the lowest “situational mood layer”, while subject-marking が exists on the highest “voice layer”. Contrastive は and exclusive が exist between the two, on the “polarity layer” (as in affirmative/negative predicates). ↩
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Since 野田 (1996) was published it has been contested whether or not this structure contains a topic; namely, by 天野 (1998) through grounds that this topic is actually a presuppositional phrase (前提句). The classification of copular sentences found in 今田 (2010) also uses this convention. 丹羽 (2007) claims that its predicate is the topic in meaning, and not the syntactic topic. ↩
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This term is a personal choice and may be confusing to people who are already familiar with research in Japanese grammar. This structure is known as a specificational sentence (指定文), which is the inverse of inverted specificational sentences (倒置指定文). Both the predicational sentence (措定文) and the inverted specificational sentence take the structure of ｢〜は〜だ。｣, while specificational sentences take the structure of ｢〜が〜だ。｣. ↩