は (Topic Marker / Contrastive Marker) Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Particle
Essential Meaning: Speaking of X / As for X
Construction: Topic + は / Contrastive Element + は
Notes:
- は is one of the most common grammatical items in Japanese and one of the first that students encounter. Simply put, the function of は is to introduce as the subject of discussion something that the speaker assumes the hearer is familiar with. This includes one-of-a-kind nouns (e.g. “The sun“, “The sky“) proper nouns (e.g. “America“, “Mr. Smith“), generic nouns (e.g. “Person“, “Car“), and other nouns that have previously been introduced into the conversation via the が particle. は can also be used to contrast two topics. More details on the contrastive は will follow.
- It’s crucial to note that in Japanese the topic is distinct from the grammatical subject (which is marked by が), even though the subject and topic are the same in most sentences. A textbook example of the difference between は and が is this: 昔々、一人のおじいさんが住んでいました. おじいさんはとても優しい人でした。[Once upon a time, there lived an old man. The old man was a very kind person.] In this example, the speaker cannot assume that the hearer is familiar with the old man. In other words, the old man is not part of the “universe of context” that exists between speaker and hearer. Thus, the old man is introduced as the grammatical subject via the が particle in order to create this necessary context. In the second sentence, now that that the hearer is aware of the existence of the old man, the speaker introduces him as the subject of the discourse with the は particle.
- Along these same lines, は is never used to mark question words (e.g. だれ [Who], なに [What], どこ [Where]) because these words do not refer to known things. In other words, it’s impossible for an unknown thing to be part of the “universe of context” that is shared between speaker and hearer.
- Typically, in a sentence with the structure XはYだ, X represents the topic of the sentence and Y represents the true content that the speaker wants to convey. In other words, with は the focus of the sentence is on the predicate rather than on the topic (this is distinct from が, which places emphasis on the subject).
- As mentioned previously, in addition to marking the topic, は can also be used as a contrastive marker. In fact, は originated as an offshoot of the conditional-marking particle ば. As a contrastive marker, は is used to contrast two or more elements in a sentence (i.e. “As for X, A. But as for Y, B.“) These contrastive elements do not have to be subjects. In fact, the contrastive は can be used in parallel with the topic marker は.
- E.g. 太郎はテニスはできます。[As for Taro, he likes tennis (in contrast to other sports, which he doesn’t like).] In this example, the first は is a topic marker and the second は is a contrastive marker.
- It can sometimes be ambiguous whether a given は is functioning as a topic marker or a contrastive marker. There are some general rules for interpreting は:
- (1) When multiple は particles appear in the same sentence, the first is generally interpreted as the topic marker and the rest are contrastive elements. When there are 3 or more は particles, each successive は is more contrastive than the ones before it.
- E.g. 僕は今日はテニスはしない。[As for me, I won’t play tennis (as opposed to other sports) today (in contrast to other days).]. In this case, 僕 [I] is introduced as the topic, 今日 [Today] is being contrasted with other days, and テニス [Tennis] is being heavily contrasted with other sports.
- (2) When Xは is pronounced emphatically, it represents a contrastive element.
- E.g. 私は一年です。[As for ME, it’s one year (But as for OTHERS, it’s not).]
- E.g. ビールは飲みます。[As for BEER, I drink it. (But as for OTHER DRINKS, I don’t drink them).]
- (1) When multiple は particles appear in the same sentence, the first is generally interpreted as the topic marker and the rest are contrastive elements. When there are 3 or more は particles, each successive は is more contrastive than the ones before it.
- In negative sentences, は can mark the negated element. If the negated item is something other than the topic, the contrastive は particle is used. Notice in the below examples that the emphasis of the sentence changes depending on where the contrastive は is placed.
- E.g. 私は昨日ボストンへ行かなかった。[I didn’t go to Boston Yesterday.] This is a neutral sentence in which は is used as a topic marker.
- E.g. 私は昨日はボストンへ行かなかった。[I didn’t go to Boston YESTERDAY.] In this case, the first は is a topic marker and the second is a contrastive marker.
- E.g. 私はボストンへは行かなかった。[I didn’t go to BOSTON yesterday.] In this case, the first は is a topic marker and the second is a contrastive marker.
- Sometimes は combines with other grammatical particles (E.g. では, とは), but in other cases the non-は particle must drop. Specifically:
- (1) When は marks a subject or direct object, が and を must drop. In other words, when both は and が / を can mark an element, は takes precedence.
- E.g. ジョーンズさんは今日本語を勉強している。 [As for Mr. Jones, he’s studying Japanese now.] In this case, Mr. Johnson is both the subject and the topic. は takes precedence over が.
- E.g 私はビールは飲みますが酒は飲みません。[As for BEER, I drink it. But as for SAKE, I don’t drink it.] In this case beer and sake are direct objects as well as contrasted elements. は takes precedence over を.
- (2) When は is used in conjunction with へ or X に (Existence), へ or に (Existence) can drop optionally.
- E.g. この町(に)は大学が二つある。[In this town, there are two universities.]
- (3) When は is used in conjunction with other particles such as に (Time), に (Indirect Object), に (Passive / Causative), に(Surface), で, と, から,まで, the particle usually remains.
- E.g. ここではタバコを吸わないでください。[Please don’t smoke tobacco here.]
- E.g. 田中さんとはよく会います。[I meet with Tanaka-sensei often.]
- E.g. 春子には人形を、秋子には絵本をあげた。[To Haruko, I gave a doll; to Akiko I gave a picture book.]
- (1) When は marks a subject or direct object, が and を must drop. In other words, when both は and が / を can mark an element, は takes precedence.
- The topic marker は does not appear in subordinate clauses. It is replaced by が. However, the contrastive は CAN appear in subordinate clauses.
- E.g. 花子は私が昨日酒を飲んだことを知っている。[Hanako knows that I drank sake yesterday.]
- E.g. 私が読んだ本は「雪国」です。[The book that I read is “Yukiguni”.]
Example Sentences:
私は学生だ。[As for me, I’m a student.]
杉田さんは行きますが私は行きません。[Sugita-san will go, but I will not go.]
ジョンズさんは今日本語を勉強している。[Mr. Jones is studying Japanese now.]
この町には大学が二つある。[There are two universities in this town.]
私はビールは飲みますが酒は飲みません。[I drink beer, but I don’t drink sake.]
春子には人形を、秋子には絵本をあげた。[To Haruko I gave a doll; to Akiko I gave a picture book.]
WILD Examples:
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