は or が with ある/いる

[murasaki11]

For a long long time, I have always been saying the following types of sentences, always with が

かぎがある。
かぎがある？
かぎがありますか
かぎがない。
犬がいる。
犬がいる？
犬がいますか
犬がいない。
etc.

Something GA aru/iru

but recently I got very confused when my Japanese friend said I said something wrong. He asked if I had a boyfriend, I said

カレシがいない and he said no I should have said カレシはいない。


why? :S

[iichiko]

I think it is difficult to explain even for Japanese.
But those are different　for sure.
Following interpreting is just my feeling as native speaker.

カレシ　が　いない
カレシ is not exist

カレシ は　いない
I think of カレシ, I have no one like that.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by murasaki11

For a long long time, I have always been saying the following types of sentences, always with が

かぎがある。
かぎがある？
かぎがありますか
かぎがない。
犬がいる。
犬がいる？
犬がいますか
犬がいない。
etc.

Those are correct ONLY IF you know what each means. These are NOT as easy as they look. You probably do not know what half of these sentences mean. I know the previous sentence shocked you but that is how I feel after reading everything you said including the next question about BF.

If you are willing to tell what you think each sentence (of either set of four) means, I will be happy to discuss this. By that, do not just give your translations. Tell me the details.

Examples:
Any dog or a particular dog?
Who knows about the dog already? The speaker? The addressee? Both?

Something GA aru/iru

but recently I got very confused when my Japanese friend said I said something wrong. He asked if I had a boyfriend, I said

カレシがいない and he said no I should have said カレシはいない。

why? :S

A huge difference exists between the two; in fact, there is even no similarity.

カレシがいない。 "My BF is missing!" You have a BF.
カレシはいない。 "I have no BF."

[murasaki11]

Originally Posted by masaegu

Those are correct ONLY IF you know what each means. These are NOT as easy as they look. You probably do not know what half of these sentences mean. I know the previous sentence shocked you but that is how I feel after reading everything you said including the next question about BF.

If you are willing to tell what you think each sentence (of either set of four) means, I will be happy to discuss this. By that, do not just give your translations. Tell me the details.

Examples:
Any dog or a particular dog?
Who knows about the dog already? The speaker? The addressee? Both?



A huge difference exists between the two; in fact, there is even no similarity.

カレシがいない。 "My BF is missing!" You have a BF.
カレシはいない。 "I have no BF."

When my Japanese friend hear me say カレシがいない he said it sounds like "my boyfriend has dissapeared". I got very confused about this whole thing because none of my books and learning tools for japanese go deep into the situation, so its VERY hard to get a grasp on what to use in these situations.


As for what I think the translations are, this is what I was taught.

I was taught that ある and いる 's translation depends on the situation. I was taught they mean "existance" and wether something is here being situated in an area, or someone "has" something, to possess something.

But what I've always been taught, is not matter what, you always use が regardless on what you what to empasize.

My books and information sourses never took into concideration wether you are talking about "a thing" or "the thing". Or something you already know about, or something you are just asking if someone has. It always implied that it doesn't matter in Japanese, that you just state the object and that there is no "the, a", specifying more information about a object.

What i've been taught that these translations all mean,
かぎがある。 (I) have key
かぎがある？Do (you) have key?
(regardless if your talking about a specific key, or a key in general).

かぎがありますか (same thing but polite)
かぎがない。 (I) don't have key.

犬がいる。 (I) have dog.
犬がいる？ Do (you) have dog.
犬がいますか Same but polite
犬がいない。 (I) Don't have dog


I though that these sentences could be used in all different situations, from wether your asking someone if they have these things in general, or if your asking if they had these things with them, something they already knew existed.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by murasaki11

When my Japanese friend hear me say カレシがいない he said it sounds like "my boyfriend has dissapeared". I got very confused about this whole thing because none of my books and learning tools for japanese go deep into the situation, so its VERY hard to get a grasp on what to use in these situations.

Right. Please know that you asked a very good question yeterday. I am sure many others will thank you for it. I have said this here multiple times without receiving any reactions but will say it again. Studying Japanese means studying its particles. Just like 「は」 and 「が」, the simplest-looking single-syllable words are the most difficult to use. There are even books on just these two particles.

I, as a Japanese-speaker, have naturally never learned Japanese outside of Japan. From helping people learn it for 30 years, however, I have a pretty good idea of how it is taught. I can clearly "see" that they are not very strict on the use of 「は」 and 「が」 but I can kind of understand why, too. Be strict with beginners and you will lose students.

If
「カレシがいない。」 means "My BF is missing!", "My BF has disappeared!", etc. and
「カレシはいない。」 means "I have no BF.",
anyone should be able to tell instictively that 「は」 and 「が」 are not interchangeable and they are monsters of words. The first sentence says that you have a BF and the second, that you do not. Isn't that a huge difference?

Use 「が」 when describing an unusual situation, accident, extraodinary event, etc.

"The sky is blue."
"OMG, the sky is dark grey!"
Now you know which one requires which particle if said in Japanese, dontcha?

Anyone willing to tell me which one is a construction worker? The other guy is probably a baseball player.
Guy A: "I broke the window." said with 「ボクが」
Guy B: "I broke the window," said with 「ボクは」

As for what I think the translations are, this is what I was taught.

I was taught that ある and いる 's translation depends on the situation. I was taught they mean "existance" and wether something is here being situated in an area, or someone "has" something, to possess something.

But what I've always been taught, is not matter what, you always use が regardless on what you what to empasize.

Wow, no wonder why you are confused. The "normal" subject marker is 「は」. You need a reason to use 「が」. This may sound simplistic but it should capture the essence of the matter.

My books and information sourses never took into concideration wether you are talking about "a thing" or "the thing". Or something you already know about, or something you are just asking if someone has. It always implied that it doesn't matter in Japanese, that you just state the object and that there is no "the, a", specifying more information about a object.

I almost want to hug you for the misfortune you have gone through. You deserve better "sources". The beginning stage is so critical in foreign language acquisition.

What i've been taught that these translations all mean,

かぎがある。 (I) have key Particular keys.
かぎがある？Do (you) have key? Sounds strange. Use 「は」 though it still wil sound strange. I do not know what 「かぎがある？」 even means.
(regardless if your talking about a specific key, or a key in general).

かぎがありますか (same thing but polite) For questions and negative statements, use 「は」.
かぎがない。 (I) don't have key. Particular key(s) and you are being unable to find it/them. Remember "My BF is missing!"?

犬がいる。 (I) have dog. Means both "I have a pet dog." and "There is a dog (here/there)."
犬がいる？ Do (you) have dog. We do not really say this to mean anything.
犬がいますか Same but polite Use 「は」.
犬がいない。 (I) Don't have dog　　Does not mean that. Means "My dog is missing!"[quote]

I though that these sentences could be used in all different situations, from wether your asking someone if they have these things in general, or if your asking if they had these things with them, something they already knew existed.

Again, it is never that simple but please give yourself lots of time to become able to feel comfortable with the particles. Developing these "feelings" is not easy. Keep writing/speaking and keep getting corrected by someone you trust.

[murasaki11]

Originally Posted by masaegu

かぎがある。 (I) have key Particular keys.
かぎがある？Do (you) have key? Sounds strange. Use 「は」 though it still wil sound strange. I do not know what 「かぎがある？」 even means.
(regardless if your talking about a specific key, or a key in general).

かぎがありますか (same thing but polite) For questions and negative statements, use 「は」.
かぎがない。 (I) don't have key. Particular key(s) and you are being unable to find it/them. Remember "My BF is missing!"?

犬がいる。 (I) have dog. Means both "I have a pet dog." and "There is a dog (here/there)."
犬がいる？ Do (you) have dog. We do not really say this to mean anything.
犬がいますか Same but polite Use 「は」.
犬がいない。 (I) Don't have dog　　Does not mean that. Means "My dog is missing!"


Again, it is never that simple but please give yourself lots of time to become able to feel comfortable with the particles. Developing these "feelings" is not easy. Keep writing/speaking and keep getting corrected by someone you trust.

Ok, so I am understanding a little more better now, starting to make sence, I think.


Ok so I am going to write a few sentences and situations and can you tell me if I am on the right track?


"I am looking in my backpack and can't find my key". かぎがない

"I am at the gym, but I can't get a locker because I don't have a key". かぎはない

"I wanna ask this guy if he has a gf".　”彼女はいますか

"I wanna ask this guy if his girlfriend is here "彼女がいますか

"I asked my friend to bring a paticular CD to my house". CDがある？

"I am asking my friend for first time if he has any cds” CDはある？

"I am cold outside, I don't own a sweater". セーターはない

”I am cold outside,　I lost my sweater”　セーターがない


Are these ok?

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by murasaki11

Ok, so I am understanding a little more better now, starting to make sence, I think.

Ok so I am going to write a few sentences and situations and can you tell me if I am on the right track?

"I am looking in my backpack and can't find my key". かぎがない Correct. They are not where they should be.

"I am at the gym, but I can't get a locker because I don't have a key". かぎはない Incorrect. This one is tricky. Though it is "a key" in English, it does not mean that any kind of a key will do. You need a specific type of a key to use the locker.

"I wanna ask this guy if he has a gf".　”彼女はいますか Correct.

"I wanna ask this guy if his girlfriend is here "彼女がいますか" Incorrect.

"I asked my friend to bring a paticular CD to my house". CDがある？ Incorrect. I think you are too addicted to using 「が」. "a particular CD" = そのＣＤ or あのＣＤ. And use 「は」

"I am asking my friend for first time if he has any cds” CDはある？ Correct.

"I am cold outside, I don't own a sweater". セーターはない Correct.

”I am cold outside,　I lost my sweater”　セーターがない Correct. But if you have just found out that the sweater is missing, you would use 「が」.

[murasaki11]

Thanks. I am starting to understand it a little more better than I was before. None of the books I used ever went into the details of the situation or even mentioned that you could use は. I am soo addicted to useing が in every situation, it is going to take some practice getting use to the differences, and not useing it for everything like I am now.

Do you have any recomendations for websites or books that give long deep explanations and examples of these particles, or something to look at or do to practice.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by murasaki11

Do you have any recomendations for websites or books that give long deep explanations and examples of these particles, or something to look at or do to practice.

I am afraid that I would be the worst person to ask this question because I have never studied Japanese as a foreign language. Hope someone else can chip in here with recommendations.

[OHayou]

Originally Posted by masaegu

I am afraid that I would be the worst person to ask this question because I have never studied Japanese as a foreign language. Hope someone else can chip in here with recommendations.

and here is where I step in! Possibly the worst Japanese student on this website and also one of the slowest learners in the world. However, how to differentiate wa and ga is slowly starting to be understood by even the likes of me by this book:

--> Making Sense of Japanese (What the Textbooks Don't Tell you) by Jay Rubin (Shout out to KyleGoetz for suggesting this in one of his threads) which I received 2 days ago. <--

Jay Rubin is a professor of Japanese Literature at Harvard University and has been teaching for over 30 years.

The book is only 130 pages or so and he devotes 18 pages to the study of Wa and Ga.

Not Convinced? Some excerpts:

"After having differentiated the named topic from implied other potential topics, wa dumps its emphatic load on what comes after it. This makes it very different from ga, which emphasizes what comes before it.

Have you ever stopped to think about why you were taught never to use wa after interrogative words such as dare, nani, and dore? Because ga puts the emphasis on what immediately precedes it,"

"All wa ever does is tell you, "I know not about others of this category we've been talking about, but as for this one..." Wa tells you nothing about how its topic is going to relate to the upcoming information: it only tells you that some information is coming up that will be related somehow to the topic. In fact, the only way that you can tell whether wa marks an apparent subject or object (or anything else) in a sentence is in retrospect."

"Ga marks the grammatical subject of an upcoming verb or adjective, but wa marks the topic--not the topic of a verb, but the topic of an upcoming discussion."

Go buy the book and get it over with!