あります and います

What You Will Learn in This Unit

When the thing that exists is an object or a plant, あります is used. When it is a person or an animal, います is used. With the particle に marking a location and the particles が and は, you can say what is where. Position words such as 上, 下, 中, 前, 後ろ, となり, and そば describe where something is, and ありません and いません express non-existence.

Two Verbs Meaning 'To Exist'

In Japanese, 'to exist' is expressed with two different words. When the thing that exists is not a person or animal, such as an object or a plant, ある is used. When a person or animal exists, いる is used. The polite forms and polite negative forms are shown in the table below.

As the table shows, the polite form is あります and いません, and the polite negative forms are ありません and いません. Both verbs mean 'to exist,' but you choose between them according to the kind of thing that exists. If the thing is an object, あります is used. If it is a person or an animal, います is used.

The same principle applies when expressing possession. To say that you have an object, あります is used. To say that you have an animal that you keep, います is used.

• 先生(せんせい)は 車(くるま)が あります。 — The teacher has a car.
• 友人(ゆうじん)は 犬(いぬ)が います。 — The friend has a dog.

Two Sentence Patterns for Showing Location

The first pattern is 'place に ○○が あります.' The place where something exists is marked with に, and the thing that exists is introduced with が. Because the thing is being introduced for the first time, the new information comes after が.

The second pattern is '○○は place に あります.' The thing that has already become the topic is stated with は, and its position is added with に. The particle は is written as は, but when it functions as a particle, it is pronounced [wa].

In both patterns, に is used to mark the place where something exists. A question is formed by adding か at the end of the sentence.