Breakdown of tomodati ha tosyokan de pasokon wo tukaimasu.

Questions & Answers about tomodati ha tosyokan de pasokon wo tukaimasu.
In Japanese, は marks the topic of the sentence (“as for my friend”), indicating what the sentence is about.
- は sets the scene or context.
- が marks the grammatical subject, often used to introduce new information or to emphasize who is doing something.
Here, since the friend is already known or assumed, we use は to state what they do.
The particle で marks the location where an action takes place.
- 図書館で means “at the library.”
- You can think of で as the equivalent of “at” or “in” when describing where you do something.
The particle を marks the direct object of a verb, i.e. what is being acted upon.
- パソコンを使います literally means “use a computer.”
- を tells us that “computer” is the thing receiving the action “use.”
Japanese generally follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order, though the topic can come first:
Topic (友達は) → Location (図書館で) → Object (パソコンを) → Verb (使います)
In English, it’s typically Subject-Verb-Object (SVO):
“My friend (Subject) uses (Verb) a computer (Object) at the library (Location).”
Japanese often omits possessive pronouns when context makes ownership clear.
- If you need to specify, you can say 私の友達は… (“my friend…”).
- But if it’s obvious from conversation or situation, you don’t need a pronoun.
Japanese nouns do not change form for number.
- 友達 can mean either “friend” or “friends,” depending on context.
- Here, without additional context, it could be one friend or multiple friends.
パソコン is a loanword (from “personal computer”).
- Japanese uses katakana for foreign words and onomatopoeia.
- Native words use hiragana or kanji; borrowed words go in katakana.
The ます-form is the polite or formal present/future tense.
- 使います = polite “use.”
- The plain (dictionary) form is 使う; you’d use that in casual speech or in writing like diaries.
- Reading: としょかん (tosho-kan)
- Meaning: “library.”
- 図 means “diagram/picture,”
- 書 means “write/book,”
- 館 means “building/hall.”
Together they form the word for a place where books are kept and read.