Breakdown of saikoro wa teeburu no ue ni aru.
はwa
topic particle
のno
possessive case particle
あるaru
to exist/have
上 にue ni
on
Questions & Answers about saikoro wa teeburu no ue ni aru.
Why is は used after サイコロ?
は marks サイコロ as the topic of the sentence.
So サイコロは means something like:
- As for the die...
- The die...
In this sentence, the speaker is telling you where the die is. The topic is the die, and the comment about it is テーブルの上にある.
A very literal breakdown is:
- サイコロは = as for the die
- テーブルの上にある = is on top of the table
In natural English, we just say The die is on the table.
Why is it ある and not いる?
Japanese uses different existence verbs depending on whether something is animate or inanimate.
- いる = for people and animals, or anything treated as animate
- ある = for things, objects, and inanimate items
A die is an object, so you use ある.
Examples:
- 猫がいる。 = There is a cat.
- 本がある。 = There is a book.
So:
- サイコロはテーブルの上にある。 = The die is on the table.
What does の mean in テーブルの上?
