# Japanese Particles: Beginner Notes

### は　＆　が

Readings:
- [Wasabi: は vs. が Five Points You Need to Know](https://wasabi-jpn.com/magazine/japanese-grammar/ha-vs-ga-five-points-you-need-to-know/)
- [Imabi: The Subject Marker が](https://imabi.org/the-particle-ga-i%e3%80%80%e6%a0%bc%e5%8a%a9%e8%a9%9e%e3%80%8c%e3%81%8c%e3%80%8d%e2%91%a0/)
- [Imabi: The Topic/Contrast Marker は](https://imabi.org/the-particle-wa-%e3%81%af-i-the-topic-contrast-marker/)

<table>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>は</td>
<td>が</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Core Function</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>Mark <strong>topic</strong> of sentence</li>
<li>Indicate <strong>contrast</strong></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>Mark <strong>subject</strong> of verb</li>
<li>Indicate <strong>new information</strong></li>
<li>Emphasizes <strong>exclusivity</strong></li>
<ul>
</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>Use Case</td>
<td>Front is known (famous/looking at)</td>
<td><ul><li>Front is new</li><li>Front is question word （何、どこ、いつ、誰、…）</li></ul></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>Information Flow</td>
<td>Front < Back</td>
<td>Front > Back</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>Edge Case</td>
<td></td>
<td>Refer <code>Edge Case Example</code></td>
</tr>
</table>

:::spoiler Contrast Example

Q : フルーツ　**は**　好きですか？

A1: オレンジ　**は**　好きです。(*speaker* has something s/he dislikes, except for orange.)

A2: オレンジ　**が**　好きです。
(*speaker* likes orange more than other fruits.)
:::

:::spoiler New/Old Information Example
1. 天気　**は**　どうですか？
- ✅: 雨　**が**　降っています。
- ❌: 雨　**は**　降っています。

2. 雨　**は**　降っていますか？
- ✅: 雨　**は**　降っています。
- ❌: 雨　**が**　降っています。
:::

:::spoiler Edge Case Example

Regular Use Case:
1. *NAME*　**は**　学生ですか？　＝　Is *NAME* a student?
2. 誰　**が**　学生ですか？　＝　Who is the student?

Irregular Use Case:
1. *NAME*　**が**　学生ですか？　＝　Is *NAME* really a student?
- To you, this is a new information.
- To express your surprise.
:::

:::spoiler ＸがＹ and ＹはＸ

1. 誰　**が**　社長ですか？
- This phrasing is appropriate when there is a group of people present, and you want to identify **who among them is the company president**. The focus is on selecting the president from the group.
- Emphasizes selecting a subject from options (new information).
2. 社長　**は**　誰ですか？
- This phrasing is used when the company president is already the focus of the conversation. In this case, you are simply asking the listener to identify **who the company president is**. This conversation does not require the company president to be physically present.
- Assumes prior knowledge or context, shifting the focus to confirming details about the subject.

:::

### が　＆　を

Readings:
- [Imabi: The Object Marker が](https://imabi.org/the-particle-ga-%e3%81%8c-ii-object-marker/)
- [Imabi: The Particle を I](https://imabi.org/the-particle-wo-%e3%82%92-i/)
- [Imabi: Object Marking: が VS を](https://imabi.org/ga-vs-wo/)

### に　＆　で

Readings:

- [Wasabi: Location of Existence: に vs. で](https://wasabi-jpn.com/magazine/japanese-grammar/japanese-particle-ni-clear-up-all-doubts-you-may-have/#1)
- [Imabi: The Locational Marker に](https://imabi.org/the-particle-ni-%e3%81%ab-i/)
- [Imabi: The Particle で I](https://imabi.org/the-particle-de-%e3%81%a7-i/)