いる (Animate Being) Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Verb (Group 2)
Essential Meaning: To be / To exist (animate being)
Construction: Group 2 Verb
Notes:
- いる is an existential verb that indicates the existence of animal life (it’s not used for plant life). Its counterpart is ある, which is used with inanimate objects.
- There are two general sentence structures when using いる:
- (1) A location is presented as the topic, and the animate being that exists in that location is under focus. This type of sentence usually takes the form LOCATION (に) は SUBJECT が (QUANTIFIER) いる.
- E.g. この町には日本人がたくさんいる。[In this village, there are many Japanese people.] In this sentence, “Village” is the location, “Japanese people” is the animate subject that exists in the village, “Many” is the quantifier, and いる is the verb.
- (2) An animate being is presented as the topic, and the location where that being exists is under focus. This type of sentence usually takes the form SUBJECT は LOCATION に いる.
- E.g. クリスはこの部屋にいる。[Chris is in this room.] In this sentence, “Chris” is the animate subject, “Room” is the location where she exists, and いる is the verb.
- (1) A location is presented as the topic, and the animate being that exists in that location is under focus. This type of sentence usually takes the form LOCATION (に) は SUBJECT が (QUANTIFIER) いる.
- In some cases, a person, group, or organization can be used in the LOCATION position when paired with いる (i.e. the person or animal under focus exists within the group or with the person).
- E.g. 私には子供が三人いる。[I have 3 kids.] In this case, the subject is the “location” where the children exist. In other words, the children are with the subject.
- E.g. このチームにはいいクオーターバックがいる。[There is a good quarterback on this team.] In this case, the team is the location where the good quarterback exists. In other words, the good quarterback is in / on the team.
Example Sentences:
クリスはこの部屋にいる。[Chris is in this room.]
この動物園にはパンダがいます。[There are pandas in this zoo.]
マークはいまクリスのアパートにいる。[Mark is at Chris’s apartment now.]
WILD Examples:
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