…
Questions & Answers about kuruma ha ookii desu.
What is the function of は in this sentence and how is it pronounced?
は (pronounced wa) is the topic-marker particle. It tells the listener that 車 is the topic (“As for the car…”) rather than marking the grammatical subject of “is big.”
Why isn't there an article like a or the before 車?
Japanese doesn’t have direct equivalents to English articles. 車 can mean “a car,” “the car,” or “cars” depending on context—listeners infer specificity from the situation.
Why doesn’t 車 change to indicate singular or plural?
Japanese nouns are not inflected for number. Whether 車 refers to one car or many cars is determined by context or by adding a counter phrase like 一台の車 (one car) or 何台かの車 (several cars).
What role does です play here, and why do we need it?
です is the polite copula (roughly equivalent to “to be”). It links 大きい (big) to 車 and elevates the politeness level of the sentence.
Why does the adjective 大きい come before です?
大きい is an い-adjective that can function as a predicate by itself. Attaching です after an い-adjective simply makes the statement polite without changing the adjective’s core meaning or form.
How would I make this sentence negative?
For an い-adjective, drop the final い, add く, and then attach ないです (or in a more formal register, くありません).
- 車は大きくないです。 (The car is not big.)
- 車は大きくありません。 (More formal version)
How can I turn this sentence into a question?
Add the question particle か at the end:
- 車は大きいですか？ (Is the car big?)
In casual speech, you can also rely on rising intonation alone: - 車は大きい？
Can I omit です in casual speech?
Yes. In plain or informal contexts, you can drop です altogether:
- 車は大きい。 (The car is big.)
This construction is common among friends or in diary-style writing.
What’s the difference between 大きい and 大きな when describing things?
- 大きい is an い-adjective that can be used as a predicate (車は大きい) or directly modify a noun (大きい車).
- 大きな is a prenominal form that only modifies nouns (大きな車 = “a big car”) and cannot be used predicatively (you can’t say 車は大きなです).
What’s the difference between 車は大きいです and 大きい車です?
- 車は大きいです states a property of the topic: “As for the car, it is big.”
- 大きい車です introduces or identifies something as a big car: “It is a big car.”
The first emphasizes describing the known topic; the second emphasizes classification or identification.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How do verb conjugations work in Japanese?”
Japanese verbs conjugate based on tense, politeness, and mood. For example, the polite present form adds ‑ます to the verb stem, while the past tense uses ‑ました. Unlike English, Japanese verbs don't change based on the subject — the same form works for "I", "you", and "they".
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning JapaneseMaster Japanese — from kuruma ha ookii desu to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions