Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 3: 7/13

が有(あ)るTo be, There is

有る kanji use can be seen

Structure

Noun + が + ある

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Expression

  • Word Type

    Verb

  • Register

    Standard

About がある

がある is a common construction that is simply a combination of the が particle, and the う-Verb, ある. This expression means 'to exist', or 'there is', and is used in relation to non-living/inanimate things.

Because the things being described in these examples are not considered to be 'alive', ある is the verb that will be used. いる is used for living things.

The polite form of ある conjugates as あります. Due to the る changing to り, we can determine that ある is a う-Verb (Godan verb). However, ある is irregular in that the plain negative form is ない, not あらない.

The kanji form of 有(あ)る is quite common, and should be learned as early as possible, to save any confusion while reading. There is no nuance difference between this expression being used with, or without kanji, and is up to the preference of the writer.

Caution

The が in がある is often omitted in casual speech, or writing that behaves like casual speech (manga, instant messaging, etc).

  • 冷蔵庫(れいぞうこ)の中(なか)には何(なに)ある？
    What's in the refrigerator?

Examples

--:--

    本(ほん)がある。

    There is a book.

    ペンがない。

    I don't have a pen.

    時間(じかん)があります。

    There is time.

    仕事(しごと)がない。

    I don't have work.

    エレベータがあります。

    There is an elevator.

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がある – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (14 in total)

  • XReaper95

    XReaper95

    I have a a problem… i think. I hide the english hints completely when doing reviews, just for an extra challenge, but some examples show [casual] as a placeholder, so there is no way to know when to write がある or だ. Some proof:

    This shows for some examples of different questions:

  • matt_in_mito

    matt_in_mito

    The site doesn’t work too well without English translations. For your extra challenge I suggest that you switch to yellow text only, so you know the grammar point you’re aiming for, but don’t get the full sentence in English.

  • XReaper95

    XReaper95

    I see, well thats to bad, I was not expecting to run into a problem like that, as that is an option they have. I guess that using the smallest hint is the solution then. Thank you!

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