- 11 lessons
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- 96 week duration
Lesson 1: が
In this lesson, I will teach you how to use the case particle が.
Function 1: Subject Marker
If you want to tell people 〇〇 is the subject, Just add が after 〇〇.
Note:
| は is also a particle（adverbial particle）. It’s called topic marker. It means that the noun before it is the topic of this sentence. When は is a particle, it’s read as “wa”. は: emphasizes the noun after it. が: emphasizes the noun before it. For example, 私はトムです。 I’m Tom. In this sentence, は emphasizes “Tom”. So you can drop the “私は” too. If you say “トムです”, it also means “I’m Tom.”, It’s just less formal. 私がトムです。I’m Tom. In this sentence, が emphasizes “私”. This sentence is often used to answer a question: “Who is Tom?” So you will answer him: I’m Tom. (It’s not everyone else, It’s me!) So it will be weird to drop the 私が. Usually, は is way more often used. But if you do want to emphasize the subject, feel free to use が, it’s correct too! |
Example Sentences:
| A: 田中はどなたですか。 B: 彼が田中です。 A: Who is Tanaka? B: He is Tanaka. 私は学生です。 I’m a student. 私は日本語を勉強しました。 I learned Japanese. 彼女はかわいいです。 She is cute. 彼らは私の友達です。 They are my friends. |
Function 2: Express What You Want to Do
If you want to express that you want to do something, Just use something below.
私は + Object + が + Wish Form of the Verb.
Note:
| Sometimes You will find some sentences like below. 私は水を飲みたいです。 I want to drink water. It’s not wrong in modern Japanese. を is the particle to mark the object of verb. (You will learn it later) Although 飲みたい can be used as an i-adj, like 飲みたいもの, it’s wish form of 飲む too. So there are more and more people use を. （水を飲み）たい 水が（飲みたい） You can even drop the particle in conversation. (But you can’t do that in exam! ) 水 飲みたい Conclusion: In Exam and Article: use XX + が + ..たい In Conversation: が、を or just drop the particle. |
Example Sentences:
| 私は結果が知りたいです。 I want to know the result. 私は英語が勉強したいです。 I want to learn English. 私はアニメが観たいです。 I want to watch anime. 本が読みたいです。 I want to read books. 肉が食べたいです。 I want to eat meat. |
Function 3: Express Likes and Dislikes
If you want to express what you like and what you don’t like, you can use something like below.
私は + Noun + が + （大）好き + です。
私は + Noun + が + （大）嫌い + です。
Example Sentences:
| 私は甘いものが好きです。 I like sweet food. 私は辛いものが大嫌いです。 I hate spicy food. 私はアニメが大好きです。 I like anime so much. 宿題が嫌いです。 I don’t like homework. あなたのことが好きです。 I like you. |
Note:
| If you want to express the hope of others, you can click the link below to learn it! https://marshallyin.com/courses/n4-grammar-course/lessons/n4-grammar-rule-2/ |
Function 4: Express the Level of Skill
If you want to express the level of skill, you can use something like below.
Topic + は + Noun + が 上手です。
Topic + は + Noun + が 下手です。
Example Sentences:
| 私は日本語が下手です。 I’m not good at Japanese. 彼はギターが上手です。 He is good at guitar. 彼女は絵がうまいです。 She is good at painting. 彼は数学がすごく上手です。 He is very good at math. 私は英語を話すのが上手です。 I’m good at speaking English. |
Function 5: Express the Ability
If you want to express the ability, you can use something like below.
Topic + は + Noun + が + Potential Form of Verb.
Example Sentences:
| 私は漢字が読めます。 I can read kanji. 私は英語が話せません。 I can’t speak English. 彼は歌が歌えます。 He can sing songs. 彼女はダンスができます。 She can dance. 私は車の運転ができません。 I can’t drive. |
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