Ga in Japanese is used mainly in four ways, explained with examples

What is “ga” in Japanse?

“Ga” is one of the most widely-used particle in the Japanese language. Native speakers use it mainly in the four different ways: making the subject in a sentence; making the object in a sentence; joining two sentences; making nuanced expressions. In this blog post, I will explain how to use this particle in detail through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand it clearly and deeply. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Making the subject in a sentence
  • Ga vs Wa in Japanese grammar
  • “Watashi ga” vs “watashi wa”
• Making the object in a sentence
  • Ga vs Wo in Japanese grammar
• Joining two sentences having different meanings
  • How to join two sentences with “ga”
• Making nuanced expressions
• Summary: ga in Japanese

Making the subject in a sentence

Let me start with “ga” used to make the subject word in a sentence.

• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word in a sentence.

Japanese people use it normally after a noun to make the subject word in a sentence. Its definition and usage are very simple and clear, I think. Unfortunately, however, its usage is not as easy as it sounds. Japanese learners often confuse this particle and the similar one, “wa”. So, I cannot avoid explaining the difference in detail.

Ga vs Wa in Japanese grammar

Let me explain “wa” as follows.

• wa – は : a binding particle working as a topic marker.

Strictly speaking, this is not a case particle, but a binding particle. So, it’s grammatically different from “ga”. Unfortunately, however, the role of the topic marker is quite similar to that of the case marker. In fact, even Japanese native speakers often see their roles as the same. So, the difference would be a bit difficult to Japanese learners, especially those who are not familiar with topic markers like English natives. Yet, they need to know the difference and use the particles properly. Natives can make natural phrases from their experience; non-natives cannot do the same thing. They need to know the difference and make natural phrases based on the grammatical theory. Then, let me explain the difference.

The very basic concept of “ga” is provide new information. So, native speakers use it after a noun which refers to information new to the listeners, in other words, something the listeners cannot understand or expect from the context. On the other hand, the role of “wa” is provide topics the listeners can understand or expect from the context. It is not suitable to provide new information out of the context. Let me take one example. In Japan, weather forecast programs normally start with the sentence, “kyou no otenki wa”. This means ‘today’s weather is’ in Japanese. They don’t start with “kyou no otenki ga”. In any weather forecast program, all the listeners share the same context. And from that context, they can understand that the forecasters will start talking about today’s weather. So, “wa” is much more suitable for the opening. It makes the subject which the listeners can expect from the context.

“Watashi ga” vs “watashi wa”

Let me take another set of examples which is very famous among Japanese learners.

Both mean ‘I’m a student’, but are not really the same. The upper one contains “ga”, so focuses more on providing new information. It is more suitable for the situation in which the listeners do not expect the speaker to be a student. On the other hand, the lower one contains “wa”, so focuses more on providing expectable topics. It is suitable for the situation in which the listeners can guess that the speaker is a student or the situation in which people talk about their occupations or such.

Some say that “ga” sounds stronger and works to stress the topic in a sentence. I think this idea is also good, but it seems to come from the role of “ga” to provide new information to the listeners. Something new or out of the context tends to sound stronger.

Making the object in a sentence

Then, let me explain the next role of “ga”.

• ga – が : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence.

Japanese people use this “ga” after a noun to make the object word in a sentence. Its definition and usage are very simple and clear, I think. Like “ga” and “wa”, however, Japanese learners often confuse this “ga” with the similar particle, “wo”. So, let me explain these two particles in detail.

Ga vs Wo in Japanese grammar

Let me explain “wo” as follows.

• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence.

Grammatically, “ga” and “wo” have the same definition and can work in the same way, namely, can work to make the object in a sentence. To tell the truth, however, “wo” is much more flexible and useful. So, in most cases, we should use “wo” after a noun to make the object word in a sentence. Only when a noun is a target of desire or a target of feeling or a target of ability, “ga” can work naturally. Let me explain this point through the example sentences below.

Both mean ‘I want to eat sushi’ in Japanese. “Sushi” can be considered as a target of desire. So, in the upper sentence, “ga” can follow it and make the object word in the sentence. Since “wo” can work in the same way as “ga”, the lower sentence sounds natural as well.

What happens if a noun is not a target of desire.

Now “sushi” is not a target of desire, but just a target of action. So, “ga” fails to make the object and ends up making the subject. In fact, the meaning of the upper sentence is ‘sushi eats’, not ‘I eat sushi’. On the other hand, “wo” can work well together with a target of action to make the object in a sentence. The lower sentence, therefore, means ‘I eat sushi’.

In real conversations, “ga” sometimes sounds more natural than “wo”. In most cases, however, we can use “wo” to make the object word in a sentence. So, Japanese learners should learn how to use “wo” first, I think. They should learn this usage of “ga” after becoming able to quickly see if a noun in a sentence is a target of desire or not.

Joining two sentences having different meanings

Then, let me explain the next role of “ga”.

• ga – が : a conjunctive particle used to join two sentences which have different or opposite meanings.

Japanese people often use this type of “ga” to join two sentences which have different or opposite meanings. Its role is similar to that of “but” in English. Normally, however, their positions are different. “Ga” tends to be placed at the end of the preceding sentence. Let me explain its usage through the example sentence below.

How to join two sentences with “ga”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ame – 雨 (あめ) : a noun meaning ‘rain’ in Japanese.
• fut – 降っ (ふっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “furu”, which means ‘to fall’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the example, this is used after “fut” to make its te form, “fut te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
• iru – いる : an auxiliary very used to express the continuity of the action described by the preceding verb. In the example, this is used after the te-formed verb, “fut te”, to express the continuity of the action, ‘to fall’.
• umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘sea’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a place to which someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “umi” to say where “I” will go.
• iku – 行く (いく) : a verb meaning ‘to go’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “ga”. In this example, it joins the two sentences: “ame ga fut te iru” and “umi ni iku”. The event which the second sentence expresses cannot easily expected from the first sentence. So, “ga” is suitable to join these two.

Normally the word just before “ga” needs to be in its plain form. In fact, in this example, “iru” is in its plain form to have the better connection with “ga”.

Making nuanced expressions

Lastly, let me explain “ga” as a sentence-ending particle.

• ga – が : a sentence-ending particle used to make a nuanced expression.

This usage was derived from the last one: joining two sentences. When the second sentence to be joined is omitted, “ga” appears to be a sentence-ending particle. And actually this type of “ga” was made like this. So, it often implies that the speaker still has something to say but can’t. Japanese natives put this “ga” at the end of a sentence to make a nuanced expression or to express their dissatisfaction indirectly or such. Let me explain this usage through the example conversation below.

This is a typical usage of this type of “ga”. It is placed at the end of the second sentence and used to imply that the speaker still has something to say. In this situation, we can assume that he/she wants to add “are you sure?” or such.

In this example, “ga” has been translated as “though”. Sometimes, these two words correspond well to each other.

Summary: ga in Japanese

In this blog post, I’ve explained the four different types of “ga”. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word in a sentence. It focuses on providing new information or something the listeners cannot understand or expect from the context.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. Only when the preceding noun is a target of desire or a target of feeling or a target of ability, this can work to make the object in a sentence.
• ga – が : a conjunctive particle used to join two sentences which have different or opposite meanings. Although the positions are different, the role of this “ga” is similar to that of “but” in English.
• ga – が : a sentence-ending particle used to make a nuanced expression. This was derived from the third role. When the second sentence to be joined is omitted, “ga” appears to be a sentence-ending particle.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.