kodomo wa kudamono o tabemasu.

Children eat fruit.

Breakdown of kodomo wa kudamono o tabemasu.

• は: topic particle
• 子こ供ども: child
• を: direct object particle

Questions & Answers about kodomo wa kudamono o tabemasu.

What is the function of は in the sentence 子供は果物を食べます?

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:

1. 子供は = Subject/Topic
2. 果物を = Object
3. 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.