Structure
Subject + が
Details
Part of Speech
Particle
Word Type
Case Marking Particle
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Standard
About が
が is considered to be the subject marker in Japanese. This means that it marks someone or something that is performing an action, or it identifies someone or something as having a specific feature (this is usually a feature that the listener is not aware of).
In both of these sentences, が puts focus on the thing performing an action/existing in some way (as opposed to any other thing). Because of this, が is usually said to highlight what comes before it, while は highlights what comes after it.
が always shows the 'target' of a statement, when other targets also exist. This is why が is used to describe situations that are happening either 'in the moment', or 'individually of other things'.
Because the group in this sentence is only one group out of many possible 'groups of people' that could be described, が will be used.
Caution
が is not usually used to describe something about yourself, unless you are intentionally describing yourself compared to other people. If you want to talk about yourself 'in general terms', は will sound more natural (there are exceptions).
Synonyms
Examples
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お茶が冷たいです。
The tea is cold.
何がいい？
What is good? (What would you like?)
それがいいです。
That is good. (That is what I would like)
カレーが辛い。
The curry is spicy. (The curry is the thing that is spicy)
木が高い。
The tree is tall. (The tree is the thing that is tall)
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Imabi
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が vs は
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Bunpro Breakdown
How to use は, は vs が
Thorough breakdown of は and が - Page 299
80/20 Japanese
は vs. が quick breakdown and comparison
Japanese StackExchange
What it’s for and when to use it (and not “wa”)
80/20 Japanese
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Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 195
みんなの日本語 I
Page 146 [CH 23]
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 118
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 36
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が – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (6 in total)
nekoyama
I think the idea is that when you’re experiencing something with your five senses and you want to tell someone else about it, it’s often going to be new information, and は can’t be used to introduce it.
But on the whole I don’t like this statement either because it seems it would apply to a statement like ここは寒い which sounds weird with が. It’s probably not what it’s intended to mean, but IMHO the English description (actually the other two orange lines too) is way too simplistic for this topic and it would be better to not have anything at all and make people read up on the details in a more comprehensive source.
felicjli11
In this sentence, why is it 父は背が高い instead of 父の背が高い？
Fuga
Hey @felicjli11 !
The reason の is not used here is because this particle is used for possession and in Japanese height is not something a person possesses. Since it is a physical trait of a person, は would sound more natural.
For example, 父は背が高い would sound like ‘my father is tall’ in English and 父の背が高い would sound like ‘my father’s height is tall’ in English. Although the sentence can be understood, it does sound a bit unnatural.
Hope this helps!
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