Breakdown of neko ha gyuunyuu wo nomimasu.
はha
topic particle
猫neko
cat
をwo
direct object particle
飲むnomu
to drink
牛乳gyuunyuu
milk
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Questions & Answers about neko ha gyuunyuu wo nomimasu.
What role does は play in 猫は?
は is the topic-marker particle. It tells us that “cats” (猫) is the topic of the sentence—what we’re talking about—rather than marking it as the subject in a strict grammatical sense.
Why can’t we use が instead of は here?
Using が (the subject marker) would emphasize or identify which cat does the drinking (e.g. “It is the cat that drinks milk”). は simply sets “cats” as the general topic (“As for cats, …”).
What about 牛乳を—why を?
を is the direct-object marker. It indicates that 牛乳 (milk) is what’s being drunk by the cat.
Why does the verb 飲みます come at the end?
Standard Japanese word order is Subject–Object–Verb (SOV). Hence the verb always appears last.
What tense and level of politeness is 飲みます?
飲みます is the non-past (present/future) polite form of the verb 飲む (to drink). It can mean “drink(s)” or “will drink” in polite speech.
What is the dictionary (plain) form of 飲みます?
The dictionary form is 飲む. You remove the -ます suffix and change the stem accordingly.
How would you say “Cats do not drink milk”?
Replace 飲みます with its polite negative 飲みません:
猫は牛乳を飲みません。
How do you turn this into a question?
Add か at the end of the polite form:
猫は牛乳を飲みますか。
(“Do cats drink milk?”)
Could you use ミルク instead of 牛乳?
Yes. ミルク is the loanword for “milk,” often used in casual or Western contexts. Both are correct:
猫はミルクを飲みます。
How is 牛乳 pronounced and what’s its literal meaning?
It’s pronounced ぎゅうにゅう (gyūnyū). Literally it means “cow milk,” from 牛 (cow) + 乳 (milk).