Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha yasai wo takusan tabemasu.

は is the topic‐marker particle. It highlights 私 (“I”) as the topic of the sentence—the thing you are talking about. It doesn’t necessarily mark the grammatical subject (that’s が), but it tells the listener, “As for me…”

Why is を placed after 野菜?

を marks the direct object. It shows that 野菜 (“vegetables”) is what is being eaten by the topic (私).

How does たくさん function here, and why does it come before the verb?

たくさん means “a lot” or “many.” It’s an adverb modifying the verb 食べます (“eat”). In Japanese, adverbs normally precede the verb they modify, so たくさん comes right before 食べます.

What tense and politeness level is 食べます?

食べます is the present/future polite affirmative form of the verb 食べる (“to eat”). In dictionary form it’s 食べる, but to speak politely you conjugate it to 食べます when talking about the present or future.

Why can 私は be omitted sometimes?

Japanese often drops pronouns when they’re clear from context. If you’re talking about yourself, 野菜をたくさん食べます alone is enough—it’s understood that “I” do the eating.

Could you use a different word for “I” instead of 私?

Yes. For example, men might say 僕 (boku) or 俺 (ore) in casual situations, and women sometimes say あたし. But 私 is neutral and polite, so it’s safest in formal or mixed settings.

Why does the verb come at the end of the sentence?

Japanese typically follows a Subject/Topic–Object–Verb (SOV) word order. So you place 食べます at the very end after the topic and object.

How would you make this sentence past tense or negative?

– Past polite: change 食べます to 食べました, giving 私は野菜をたくさん食べました (“I ate a lot of vegetables”).
– Negative polite: change 食べます to 食べません, giving 私は野菜をたくさん食べません (“I don’t eat a lot of vegetables”).