'Arimasu' to 'Imasu'!

[origamiboxers]

Vocabulary:
と/to: and (this means 'these and nothing else'. It may be used with more that one thing: 1 と 2 と 3 と 4)
や/ya: and (this means 'these and more, but im too lazy to say them all'. Kind of like 'etc.' in english. It may be used with more that one thing: 1 や 2 や 3 や 4)

In this lesson you will learn about あります/arimasu and います/imasu!

あります/arimasu:
Dictionary form:　ある/aru
This means "there are/is". It is used only for inanimate(not alive) objects.

います/imasu:
Dictionary form:　いる/iru
This means "there are/is". It is used for animate (alive) animals/people. Since plants don't move around, they are not considered 'alive' in Japanese.

The particle you use when using these verbs is 'が/ga' instead of 'わ/wa' for some reason or another. 'が/ga' is also a subject indicator.

Examples:

Aoi Hon ga arimasen.
あおい　ほん　が　ありません。
There is not a blue book./I do not have a blue book.*

Koneko ga sanbiki imasu.
こねこ　が　さんびき　います。
There are 3 kittens./I have 3 kittens.*

Arimasu and Imasu may be used for "have", but I think the more correct form of "have" is Motte imasu.

My last japanese teachers favorite sentence:

SHITSUMON GA ARIMASU KA??
(Is there/Do you have any questions?)  

[Nagaikami]

The best I can explain about the wa/ga thing is that you don't use 'wa' when making the very basic statement of existance.

これは本です。 Kore wa hon desu. This is a book
本があります。 Hon ga arimasu. There is a book.

それは私のいぬです。Sore ha watashi no inu desu. That is my dog.
いぬがいます。Inu ga imasu. There is a dog.

In the first of those statements, something is being defined. The object is defined as being a book. The animal is defined as being my dog.

The other sentences are mere statements of existance. There is a book. You're introducing the fact for the first time.

I'll try and come up with a more detailed explanation for that, beside it just sounding unnatural.

Also, remember that while the particle is prounounced 'wa' when speaking, it is always written with the character は/ha

[Edit] I've had to reenter my Japanese text mutliple times now. If the text gets scrambled again, I'm sorry. But I'm sick of typing the same thing over and over again.  

[Hermonie Urameshi]

Hey, thanks for putting kana along with it. That really helps.

~浦飯経妄荷~

 

[Rags of Ash]

Ah thank you so much for explaining wa/ga. I was having such a horrible time trying to figure out when it was appropriate to use 'wa' and if you always used it why would you need to even learn 'ga'. Now my question is answered.

Once again, thank you!!