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Questions & Answers about inu ha totemo ookii desu.
What does は do in this sentence?
は is the topic marker. It tells us that 犬 (“dog”) is what the sentence is about. You can think of it as “as for the dog…” in English. Japanese often sets a topic with は and then comments on it.
Why isn’t が used instead of は?
が is the subject marker, often introducing new information or emphasizing the doer. Here we’re making a general statement about the dog, not presenting it as new or emphasizing existence. In descriptions like this, once the topic is clear, は is more natural.
What is とても and where does it go?
とても is an adverb meaning “very.” Adverbs in Japanese typically come right before the word they modify. Here it intensifies 大きい (“big”) to “very big.”
Why does 大きい end with い, and how does it function?
大きい is an i-adjective, one of two main adjective types in Japanese. I-adjectives always end in い, can directly modify nouns (e.g. 大きい犬 “big dog”), and also serve as predicates (“is big”) without needing an extra verb.
Why can we add です after 大きい? Isn’t the adjective enough?
I-adjectives like 大きい already carry the “is” meaning, but adding です makes the sentence polite. You cannot pair them with だ (so 大きくだ is wrong). In casual speech you’d simply say 犬はとても大きい.
Why aren’t there words for “a” or “the” before 犬?
Japanese doesn’t use articles. Whether it’s “a dog” or “the dog” depends entirely on context. Here the context (perhaps previous conversation or shared knowledge) tells you which is meant.
How do I turn this into a question?
Add か at the end:
犬はとても大きいですか？
Or simply use rising intonation in speech without writing か.
Can I say this more casually?
Yes. Drop です for plain form:
犬はとても大きい。
For slang, you might even use めっちゃ instead of とても:
犬はめっちゃ大きい。
Why is the adjective placed after 犬は instead of before, like English “big dog”?
This sentence is a predicate structure (topic + comment), so the adjective comes in the predicate part. If you wanted a noun phrase “big dog,” you would say 大きい犬. But as a full sentence meaning “The dog is big,” you must follow Japanese SOV/SV order: topic (犬は) then predicate (とても大きいです).
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Japanese verbs conjugate based on tense, politeness, and mood. For example, the polite present form adds ‑ます to the verb stem, while the past tense uses ‑ました. Unlike English, Japanese verbs don't change based on the subject — the same form works for "I", "you", and "they".
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