は vs が: a five-situation decision guide
Known vs new, questions, が-predicates, contrast and inner clauses
Why there is no shortcut from Spanish, French or English
Your three languages mark the subject by agreement and word order, and none of them has a topic particle. So は gets translated as ‘subject marker’ in the first week and everything goes wrong from there. Keep one sentence in mind: は says what we are talking about; が says who or what, among the candidates, the predicate is true of. は looks back to something known; が points forward to new or singled-out information.
The five situations
| Situation | Learner writes | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. A plain statement about a known frame (me, today, this shop) | ✗ 今日が寒いです | 今日は寒いです | Hoy hace frío has no explicit subject, while il fait froid has an impersonal one. Neither construction maps mechanically to a Japanese subject marker. が would mean today is the one cold day. |
| 2. Question words and their answers | ✗ だれは来ましたか | だれが来ましたか。田中さんが来ました。 | A question word is by definition unknown, and unknown things never take は. The answer keeps が. |
| 3. Gustar-type and existence predicates | ✗ 私は猫を好きです / 駅に銀行はあります | 私は猫が好きです / 駅に銀行があります | 好き・分かる・できる・ほしい・ある・いる take が on the thing. An existence sentence introduces something new, so が. |
| 4. Contrast between two items | ✗ コーヒーが飲みますが、お茶が飲みません | コーヒーは飲みますが、お茶は飲みません | は on both sides sets them against each other, like el café sí, el té no. は even replaces を here. |
| 5. Inside a subordinate or relative clause | ✗ 母は作った料理はおいしいです | 母が作った料理はおいしいです | は belongs to the main sentence. Inside a clause the subject takes が (or の). Same in 雨が降ったら and 田中さんが来たとき. |
The pattern that unlocks the rest
象は鼻が長いです. は opens the frame (elephants); が names what inside that frame is long (the nose). This is how you say tengo los ojos verdes or j’ai mal à la tête: 私は目が緑色です, 私は頭が痛いです. Not 私の目は緑色です on every occasion, and never 私は頭を痛いです.
Two habits from English
- Do not start every sentence with 私は. English and French normally require an explicit subject; Spanish can drop yo, whereas French normally retains je. Do the Spanish thing: after the first mention, 学生です, 明日行きます. A repeated 私は sounds contrastive, ‘as for ME…’.
- Do not translate ‘it is raining’ with は. Something you just noticed, reported neutrally, takes が: 雨が降っています, 電話が鳴っています, あ、猫がいる. Once the rain is the topic of the conversation it switches: 雨は明日も降りますか.
A quick decision procedure
- Is it inside a subordinate or relative clause? Then が.
- Is it a question word, or the answer to one? Then が.
- Is the predicate 好き・分かる・できる・ほしい・ある・いる, and is this the thing liked, understood, possible, wanted or existing? Then が.
- Am I contrasting it with something else, or negating it? Then は.
- Otherwise: already known to both of us? は. Brand new and singled out? が.
Common mistakes
- は is not a subject marker; ask ‘what am I talking about’ (は) versus ‘which one is it’ (が).
- Question words never take は: だれが, 何が, どれが, and the answer keeps が.
- A plain statement about a known frame (今日, 私, この店) takes は; 今日が寒い singles today out among all days.
- Inside a subordinate or relative clause the subject takes が or の, never は: 母が作った料理.
- Two items set against each other both take は, even where the particle would otherwise be を: 肉は食べますが、魚は食べません.
- Omit 私は after the first mention, as Spanish can omit yo; French normally retains je. Repeating 私は can sound contrastive.
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