---

The Linking-Indicating Particle

The function of the structural particle "ga" is to set off a word
or phrase in a manner similar to the topic-indicating particle "wa".
But instead of being used to set off a topic, it is used to link the word or phrase that precedes it to the adjective or verb that immediately
follows it.

A simple sentence illustrates this usage:

Zou wa hana ga nagai.
elephant trunk long
(As for) elephants, (their) trunks are long.
[trunk = long]

Here wa sets off the topic of the sentence which is then
commented on by the part of the sentence that follows.

ga, on the other hand, links the word which precedes it (hana)
to the adjective (nagai) that follows it.

A modifier can be used between ga and the adjective or verb that follows
it, but this does not affect the one-to-one link between the word or phrase
which precedes ga and the adjective or verb which follows it.

Nigatu ni yuki ga yoku furimasu.
February snow often falls
(In) February (it) often snows.
yuki = furimasu 

Common expressions that use ga are: ...ga suki desu, ... hou ga ii desu, and ...koto ga arimasu.

Examples:

Susi ga suki desu.
sushi like
(I) like sushi.

Takusii de itta hou ga ii desu.
taxi go had better
(You) had better go (by) taxi.

Nihon e itta koto ga arimasu.
Japan been (have the experience of)
(I) have been (to) Japan.

There's a word in Japanese that is also pronounced "ga", and which has
a basic meaning of "but". Some textbooks consider this word to be just
another usage of the structural particle ga.

However, since its usage is completely different from the particle usage,
in learning to speak Japanese it is better to consider this second "ga"
to be an actual word with a meaning equivalant to the English: "but".

Example of the word ga "but" usage:

Ikitakunai ga, ikanakereba narimasen.
don't want go but must go
(I) don't want (to) go, ga (I) have (to) go.

As is apparent, this ga always comes at the end of a clause. Sometimes its
use is more on the order of "and" then "but", so you should determine from
the context just how much of an adversative sense to attribute to it.

The word ga is also used as a "pause word" to soften the force of a direct
statement, or to allow the listener time to assimilate what the speaker is
saying. It's often used in identifying oneself on the telephone:

Buraun to mousimasu ga .....
(This) is Brown ....

Sample Sentences:

Kanojo wa Nihongo ga yoku dekimasu.
she Japanese well can
She can (speak) Japanese well.

Kuruma ga koshou simasita.
car broke down
(My) car broke down.

Motto benkyou sita hou ga ii desu yo.
more study should
(You) should study more!.

Tanaka-san wa se ga takai desu ne.
Tanaka-san tall
Tanaka-san is tall (isn't he).

Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu.
China been been (have the experience of)
(I) have been (to) China.

(back to Particle Menu -- click here) 

The content of this Butler Consulting, Inc. WWW site is copyright © 2001, 2003 by
Ken Butler, 1-12-905 Higashi Kanagawa, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan 211-0044