が

が marks the grammatical subject of the sentence. At the N5 level, you'll meet が most often in existence sentences (〜があります・〜がいます), preference sentences (〜が好きです), and ability sentences (〜が分かります).

The basic difference from は: は raises a topic that's already known, while が introduces new information or emphasizes "precisely who, precisely what." That's why question words always take が: 誰が来ましたか (Who came?) — you never say 誰は.

You don't need to master the は・が distinction right away — memorize the fixed patterns that use が first, and the feel will come on its own through examples.

Examples

• 部屋(へや)に猫(ねこ)がいます。

  There is a cat in the room.

• 私(わたし)は音楽(おんがく)が好(す)きです。

  I like music.

• 誰(だれ)が来(き)ましたか。

  Who came?

Related patterns

• は
• 〜があります
• 〜がいます
• 〜のがすきです