Breakdown of sumaho ha tiisai desu ga, totemo benri desu.
はha
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
小さいtiisai
small
がga
but
スマホsumaho
smartphone
便利benri
convenient
とてもtotemo
very
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Questions & Answers about sumaho ha tiisai desu ga, totemo benri desu.
Why is the particle は used after スマホ instead of が here?
The particle は marks the topic of the sentence. By saying スマホは, you’re setting “smartphones” as the topic you’re going to talk about. If you used が, you’d be focusing on presenting new information about smartphones. In this case the speaker wants to compare aspects of the smartphone (smallness vs. convenience), so は is appropriate.
What role does the が between です and とても play in this sentence?
This が is a conjunction meaning “but” or “however.” It connects two clauses:
- スマホは小さいです (The smartphone is small.)
- とても便利です (It’s very convenient.)
Together, が expresses contrast: “It’s small, but very convenient.”
Why do we say 小さいです instead of just 小さい?
In polite speech, even い-adjectives like 小さい can take です at the end to show politeness. You can say 小さい alone in plain form or casual speech, but 小さいです is more polite and common in formal or unfamiliar contexts.
Why is 便利 followed by です instead of an adjective ending like 便利い?
便利 is a な-adjective, not an い-adjective. Unlike い-adjectives, な-adjectives require です (or だ in plain speech) to form a predicate. That’s why we say 便利です rather than 便利い.
What does とても mean, and why is it placed before 便利?
とても means “very” or “extremely.” It’s an adverb that modifies adjectives and verbs. Here it intensifies 便利, so とても便利です means “(it’s) very convenient.” Adverbs like とても always come before the word they modify.
Could we omit です in casual speech or writing?
Yes. In informal or casual contexts you can drop です, especially with friends or family. For example:
スマホは小さいが、とても便利。
However, be careful: omitting です makes the tone more abrupt or rough, so it’s not appropriate in polite situations.
Can we switch the order of clauses to start with とても便利です first?
You can reorder for emphasis, but then you’d need a different conjunction or structure. For example:
とても便利ですが、スマホは小さいです。
This means “It’s very convenient, but smartphones are small.” It shifts the focus to convenience first and then contrasts with size.