Learn Hardcore Japanese: kodomo ha kudamono wo tabemasu.

は is the topic‐marker particle. It tells us what the sentence is “about.” In this case, it marks 子供 (kodomo, “child/children”) as the topic. You could think of it as “As for the child…”

は often contrasts or sets up known information.
If you replaced it with が, you’d be simply identifying the subject (new information) rather than setting a topic: 子供が果物を食べます can imply “It is the child who eats fruit,” emphasising who does the eating.

What is the function of を, and how do you pronounce it?

を is the direct‐object particle. It marks 果物 (kudamono, “fruit”) as the thing being eaten.

Pronunciation: although it’s written を, you pronounce it “o” (not “wo”).
It always follows the object noun: X を Y where Y is the verb.

Why does the verb come at the end of the sentence? Can I say it in English word order (SVO)?

Japanese is a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language by default:

子供は = Subject/Topic
果物を = Object
食べます = Verb
You generally cannot swap it to English SVO (“Child eats fruit”) without sounding ungrammatical. However, you can move non‐verb phrases around for emphasis, but the verb almost always stays in final position.

What is 食べます? How does it relate to 食べる?

食べます (tabemasu) is the polite, non-past form of the verb 食べる (taberu, “to eat” in dictionary/plain form).

Structure: 食べ (stem) + ます (politeness ending)
Plain vs. polite:
• 食べる = plain/dictionary form (used in casual speech, writing, dictionaries)
• 食べます = polite form (used in formal contexts, conversations with strangers, superiors)

How do I make that sentence past, negative, or past‐negative?

You change the ます portion:
• Past polite: 食べました (ate)
• Negative polite (present/future): 食べません (do/does not eat; will not eat)
• Past negative polite: 食べませんでした (did not eat)

Example (past):
子供は果物を食べました。
Child ate fruit.

How do you read 子供 and 果物, and why are they written in kanji instead of hiragana?

• 子供 is read こども (kodomo) – “child/children.”
• 果物 is read くだもの (kudamono) – “fruit.”
Kanji are used to:

Convey meaning at a glance (子＝child, 果＝fruit/produce, 物＝thing)
Shorten writing and distinguish homophones
Beginners sometimes write everything in hiragana, but native‐level Japanese mixes kanji and kana for readability and precision.

Can I drop 子供は and just say 果物を食べます?

Yes, if the topic (“the children” or “a child”) is clear from context, you can omit it. Japanese often leaves out topics/subjects when they’re understood: • (At snack time) 果物を食べます。
However, in isolation or to introduce new information, it’s clearer to keep 子供は.

Does 食べます here mean “is eating” (progressive) or “will eat,” or just a general habit?

食べます is the non-past, polite form and can express:

A habitual action (“Children eat fruit [regularly].”)
A general statement/fact (“Children eat fruit.”)
A future action (“(They) will eat fruit.”)
To express the ongoing action “is eating,” you’d use the progressive form 食べています.

Could I use the loanword フルーツ instead of 果物?

Yes! 子供はフルーツを食べます。 is perfectly natural.

果物 is the native Japanese term.
フルーツ (from English “fruits”) is more casual or stylistically modern, sometimes implying imported/tropical fruits.

How do I turn this statement into a question: “Do children eat fruit?”

Add the question particle か to the end:
子供は果物を食べますか。
You can also rely on rising intonation in spoken Japanese, but か makes it explicitly a question in writing and formal speech.