The sentence skeleton and particles – Japanese N5 grammar
Meaning, explanation and example sentences with translations.
は · the topic — the rest of the sentence is about it
the topic — an announcement of what is being talked about
Marks what the sentence is about, and hands the rest of the sentence over to saying something about that topic. The topic is usually something the listener already knows. It is not the same as the subject: the topic is often the subject as well, but it can just as easily be the object or a time expression.
noun + は; written with the character は, but pronounced “wa”
Examples
- 母は元気です。My mother is well.Topic and subject coincide — the simplest case.
- 今日は寒いですね。It is cold today, isn’t it?The topic is a time expression, not the subject. The sentence does not say “the day is cold”, but “as for today — it is cold”.
- この店は安いです。This shop is cheap.We point to a shop both speakers know, and only then say something about it.
が（新情報） · who or what: newly introduced
the subject presented as new information
Introduces a subject the listener does not yet have in mind. That is why the answer to a “who?” question always takes が — the answer itself is the new part. When it singles one item out of several, が does something else and has an entry of its own: が（排他）.
noun + が
Examples
- あそこに猫がいます。There is a cat over there.The cat comes up in the conversation for the first time, so it takes が, not は.
- だれがこの絵をかきましたか。Who painted this picture?A question about the subject. は never follows a question word.
が（排他） · this one and no other, out of several
the subject singled out as the only right one
Picks one item out of several and says it is this one, not another. It answers “which one?” rather than “what is new?” — which is why 私が行きます means “I am the one who will go”. When it introduces a new subject, が does something else and has an entry of its own: が（新情報）.
noun + が; when picking one out of several
Examples
- 私が行きます。I’ll be the one to go.Out of several people, this one — hence が, not は. With は the sentence would only say what I intend to do.
- この本がいいです。I’d like this book.Out of several books the choice falls on this one — が says which. With は the sentence would be a general opinion about the book.
を（対象） · what the action covers: what is eaten, read, bought
the thing the action is directed at
Marks what the action covers: what is eaten, read, bought. It stands with transitive verbs — the ones that need something to act on. With verbs of motion を does something else and has an entry of its own: を（通過・起点）.
noun + を; written with its own character を, pronounced “o”
Examples
- 毎朝コーヒーを飲みます。I drink coffee every morning.The coffee is what undergoes the drinking — a textbook direct object.
- 日本語の本を読みました。I read a book in Japanese.The whole phrase “book in Japanese” is a single object.
を（通過・起点） · where the motion goes through or starts from
the space a motion verb passes through or starts from
With verbs of motion を marks not the thing acted on but the space the motion covers: the one it passes through (道を歩く) or the one it starts from (家を出る, バスを降りる). These verbs are not transitive, so they take no object at all.
noun (place) + を + verb of motion
Examples
- 道を歩きます。I walk along the street.The street is not what the action is directed at — を marks the space the motion passes through.
- 毎朝七時に家を出ます。I leave the house at seven every morning.The house is where the motion starts. 出る is not a transitive verb, so there is no object here at all.
に（方向・相手） · where motion is headed, who receives the thing
the destination of movement or the recipient of an action
Shows where something is heading or who it is directed at. What matters here is the destination: the place where the movement ends, not the route to it.
noun + に
Examples
- 来月、京都に行きます。Next month I am going to Kyoto.Kyoto is the point where the journey ends.
- 友だちに手紙を書きました。I wrote a letter to a friend.The friend is the recipient, not a place — the same particle handles both cases.
で（場所） · the place of an action — something happens there
the place where an action takes place
Marks the stage on which something happens. The deciding question is whether something takes place there or someone is simply present — with bare existence (ある, います) に takes over. The same で comes back later in another role, marking the set within which something is the greatest: クラスで一番.
noun denoting a place + で
Examples
- 図書館で勉強します。I study in the library.The library is where the studying takes place.
- 公園で子どもが遊んでいます。Children are playing in the park.Playing is an action, so the park takes で, not に.
で（手段） · what something is done with: tool, means, material
a tool, a means of transport or a material
The same character as with place, but it answers a completely different question: not “where”, but “with what”. It covers tools, means of transport, languages and materials.
noun + で
Examples
- はしで食べます。I eat with chopsticks.The chopsticks are a tool, not a place.
- 電車で会社へ行きます。I go to work by train.A means of transport. This clashes with place: “I read on the train” would be written exactly the same way.
と（並列） · and — and that is the whole list
a complete list — nothing beyond what is named
Joins nouns and says the list is closed: what is named is everything there is. That is how it differs from や, which leaves the list open. When the noun before と is a person taking part in the action, this is not a list but と（共同）.
noun + と + noun
Examples
- パンとたまごを買いました。I bought bread and eggs.I bought those two things and nothing else — や would say they are only examples.
- 兄と姉がいます。I have an older brother and an older sister.A closed list: と says these are all of them.
と（共同） · together with (a person)
the person the action is done with
Marks the companion in an action — someone doing it together with the speaker. The shape of the sentence does not settle it: パンとたまごを買いました and 妹と映画を見ました look the same. What settles it is the noun before と — a thing of the same kind as the next one belongs to a list, while a person taking part in the action is a companion. Listing is a separate entry: と（並列）.
noun for a person + と + verb
Examples
- 妹と映画を見ました。I watched a film with my sister.My sister was watching it with me, and a film cannot belong to the same list as a person — so here と points to who I was with.
- 弟と公園で遊びました。I played with my little brother in the park.遊ぶ does not take に for a person — only と marks the companion.
も · too, also; not… either
adding another item on equal footing
Says that what was just said about something else applies here as well. It replaces は, が and を — it is not added to them, it takes their place.
noun + も (replacing は / が / を)
Examples
- わたしも行きます。I am going too.We do not say わたしはも — も takes the place of は.
- 兄は医者です。姉も医者です。My brother is a doctor. My sister is a doctor too.The second sentence repeats the predicate of the first, so the subject takes も.
の · whose, which, from where — noun beside noun
possession, or a closer description of a noun
Subordinates one noun to another. Its range is wider than the English possessive: it covers ownership, origin, material, field and membership of a group. The modifier always stands before what it modifies.
noun + の + noun
Examples
- これはわたしの本です。This is my book.The simplest use — ownership.
- 日本語の先生に聞きました。I asked the Japanese teacher.Here の marks a field, not an owner.
か · …?; the question particle
turning a sentence into a question without reordering it
Japanese does not reorder words to ask a question — it adds か at the end and that is enough. In casual speech か is often dropped and intonation alone carries the question, but in polite speech it stays. The same character has a second job: placed between two nouns it means “or”.
sentence in ます／です form + か; the word order stays unchanged
Examples
- 明日は休みですか。Is tomorrow a day off?The word order does not change at all — か at the end does all the work.
- 何を食べますか。What will you eat?か is needed with a question word too; 何 on its own is not enough.
- コーヒーか紅茶を飲みます。I will have coffee or tea.The second job of the same character: between nouns か means “or”. There is no question here.
や · and, and the like — the list stays open
an open list — the items named are only examples
Names two or three things and leaves the list open — the rest is understood. That is what sets it apart from と, which lists everything there is. It joins nouns only, so an activity has to be named as a noun first.
noun + や + noun; など often comes at the end of the list
Examples
- 机の上に本やノートがあります。There are books, notebooks and the like on the desk.と would say that a book and a notebook are on the desk — and nothing else.
- 休みの日は買い物や散歩をします。On my days off I do the shopping, go for a walk and so on.や joins nouns, which is why the activities appear here as 買い物 and 散歩, not as verbs.
だけ · only, just
narrowing to the thing named, with no judgment of amount
Narrows things down to what is named and implies nothing beyond that — it does not say whether that is a lot or a little. A preceding を usually drops out, while は and が can be placed after だけ: 水だけは飲みました. At higher levels しか〜ない restricts in a similar way, but adds a sense of not-enough.
noun + だけ; number + だけ; verb in dictionary form + だけ
Examples
- 水だけ飲みました。I drank only water.を after 水 drops out — it is usually not placed after だけ.
- 一人だけ来ませんでした。Only one person did not come.だけ narrows the number: everyone except one person did come.
Where this comes from
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- Kaname: Japanese GrammarJLPT practice: N5 N4 N3 N2 N1
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