が (Conjunction) / でも / しかし / だが / だけど Japanese Grammar Lesson

が (Conjunction) / でも / しかし / だが / だけど Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Conjunction

Essential Meaning: But / However

Construction: Sentence 1 が Sentence 2

Notes:

が (Conjunction) is similar to the English conjunctions “But” or “However” in the sense that it joins two independent clauses that express contrasting ideas. However, が (Conjunction) differs from the English words “But” and “However” in three key ways:
- (1) が (Conjunction) connects to Sentence 1 rather than to Sentence 2. Therefore, it is inappropriate to place a comma before が or to begin a sentence with が.
  - E.g. *ジョンは来きた、がメアリーは来こなかった。[As for John, he came, but, as for Mary, she did not come.] が belongs at the end of Sentence 1, not at the beginning of Sentence 2.
  - E.g. *ジョンは来きた。がメアリーは来こなかった。[As for John, he came. But, as for Mary, she did not come.] A sentence can not begin with が (Conjunction).
- (2) が (Conjunction) conveys a weaker sense of contrast than its English equivalents do. In some cases, が (Conjunction) expresses NO contrast whatsoever and is simply used for stylistic purposes. For example, が is sometimes used to connect two closely related sentences, similarly to the semicolon in English.
  - E.g. パーティーをしますが来きませんか。[We’re having a party; would you like to come?]
  - E.g. 田中たなかさんは私わたしのうちにもときどき来きますが面白おもしろい人ひとですね。[Mr. Tanaka comes to my house too sometimes. He’s an interesting person, isn’t he?]
- (3) In the structure Sentence 1 が Sentence 2, Sentence 2 can be omitted if it is clear from context what the speaker intends to say. This omission can make the structure less direct or more polite.
  - E.g. 大丈夫だいじょうぶと思おもいますが… [I think it’s OK, but…]
  - E.g. トムはよく勉強べんきょうするんですが… [Tom studies hard, but…]
  - E.g. 駅えきに行いきたいんですが… [I want to go to the station, but…]

In the structure Sentence 1 が Sentence 2, the two sentences must be parallel with respect to formality level (i.e. both formal or both informal).
- E.g. *太郎たろうは泳およぎましたが次郎じろうは泳およがなかった。[Taro swam, but Jiro didn’t swim.] This example is strange and incorrect because Sentence 1 uses a formal predicate and Sentence 2 uses an informal predicate.
- E.g. 太郎たろうは泳およぎましたが次郎じろうは泳およぎませんでした。[Taro swam, but Jiro didn’t swim.] This example is OK because both Sentence 1 and Sentence 2 use formal predicates.

When Sentence 1 and Sentence 2 express contrasting ideas, the topics of the two sentences tend to take the contrastive は particle.
- E.g. 私わたしはビールは飲のむが酒さけは飲のまない。[I drink beer, but I don’t drink sake.]

だが, だけど, でも, しかし, and けれども all have the same contrastive meaning as が (Conjunction), but there are some slight differences.
- (1) だが, だけど, でも, and しかし are all used at the beginning of sentences, while が (Conjunction) is used at the end of sentences. Consequently, a comma or period can precede だが, だけど, でも, and しかし.
  - E.g. アニメが好すき。しかし、鬼滅きめつの刃やいばは見みたことがない。[I like anime. However, I haven’t seen Demon Slayer.] In this case, しかし appears at the beginning of Sentence 2 and not at the end of sentence 1.
- (2) けれども is a subordinating conjunction with a similar meaning to the English subordinators “Though” or “Although“. In the structure Sentence 1 けれども Sentence 2, Sentence 1 is a subordinate clause and Sentence 2 is the main clause. With が (Conjunction), both sentences are independent clauses.
  - E.g. 彼かれは貧みずしいけれども幸運こううんだ。[Though he is poor, he is fortunate.] In this case, 彼かれは貧みずしいけれども is a subordinate clause, and 幸運こううんだ is the main clause.

Example Sentences:

ジョンは来きたがメアリーは来こなかった。[John came, but Mary did not come.]

旅行りょこうをしたいがお金かねがない。[I want to travel, but I don’t have money.]

私わたしはビールは飲のむが酒さけは飲のまない。[I drink beer, but I don’t drink sake.]

WILD Examples:

At 0:18, listen for this line: かなり厳きびしい話はなしもするが、俺おれの本音ほんねを聴きいておけ [I’m going to tell you something quite severe, but please listen to my true feelings.]

At 0:50, listen for this line: だけど大おおきくなってもすずめはすずめ [However, even when they grow up, a sparrow is just a sparrow.] The idea behind this verse is that the kids are speculating what the baby sparrows will become when they grow up, and the kids conclude that even when the sparrows get big they’ll still just be sparrows.

Listen for this line at 0:40: でも誰だれより誰だれよりも知しっている [However, I know it better than anyone else.]

Listen to this line at 2:26: 風呂場ふろばなんてない。でもシンクはめっちゃでかい [There’s no bath area. But the sink is huge]

The opening line of this song goes like this: カラスが増ふえたから殺ころします、さらに猿さるが増ふえたから減へららします、でもパンダは減ったから増やします [The crows have increased in number, so we’ll kill them. Moreover, the monkeys have increased in number so we’ll diminish them. But the pandas have decreased in number, so we’ll increase them.]

Listen for this line at 0:53: 俺おれは欲張よくばり。でもお前まえらに褒美ほうびはとらせるぜ [I’m greedy, but I will ensure that you all are rewarded]

This song begins with the following line: 安やすいお弁当べんとう選えらんで買かってみても¥490。でも味噌汁みそしる付つかない [If I buy a cheap bento it’s only 490 yen. But it does’t come with miso soup]

***YouTube videos may be region-locked depending on your country of origin. If you experience issues, please try using a VPN set to a United States IP address.***