watashi wa sushi ga suki desu.

topic particle

Breakdown of watashi wa sushi ga suki desu.

• です: to be
• 私わたし: I
• 寿す司し: sushi

Questions & Answers about watashi wa sushi ga suki desu.

What does the particle は indicate in 私 は 寿司 が 好き です?

は is the topic marker. It tells us that the sentence is about 私 (I/me). Once “I” is set as the topic, the rest of the sentence provides information about that topic.

Why is 寿司 followed by が instead of を?

Because 好き is not a verb but a な-adjective expressing a state (“to be likable”). In Japanese, the thing you like (寿司) functions like the subject of that state and is therefore marked with が. The object marker を is reserved for true verbs of action, which 好き is not.

What part of speech is 好き? Is it a verb?

好き is a な-adjective (sometimes called an adjectival noun), not a verb. To make it a predicate, you attach the copula です (or in plain form だ):
– Polite: 好きです (“is likable”)
– Plain: 好きだ
When you modify another noun directly, you add な, e.g. 好きな映画 (“favorite movie”).

What is です doing at the end? Can I drop it?

です is the polite copula (roughly, “is”). It turns your statement into polite speech. In casual speech you can switch to the plain copula : – Or even drop it altogether in very informal situations: –