Breakdown of gakusei ha mainiti tango wo oboemasu.
はha
topic particle
学生gakusei
student
をwo
direct object particle
毎日mainiti
every day
単語tango
word
覚えるoboeru
to memorize
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Questions & Answers about gakusei ha mainiti tango wo oboemasu.
Why is は used after 学生 instead of が?
The particle は marks 学生 as the topic (“as for the student…”), indicating what the sentence is about. In contrast, が would mark 学生 as the grammatical subject with focus or new information (“the student (specifically) did…”). Here the speaker is talking generally about students, so は is appropriate.
What kind of word is 毎日, and what is its role in the sentence?
毎日 is a time-expression functioning as an adverb meaning “every day.” It tells us how often the action happens and is placed before or near the verb it modifies.
Why doesn’t 毎日 need a particle like に?
Although many time words (e.g. “Monday,” “3 o’clock”) take に, certain adverbial time words—毎日 (every day), 毎週 (every week), 今朝 (this morning), etc.—are used without a particle. They act like adverbs on their own.
What is the function of を after 単語?
The particle を marks 単語 as the direct object of the action. It indicates what is being memorized.
What does the verb 覚えます mean, and why is it in this form?
覚えます is the polite non-past form of the verb 覚える, which means “to memorize” or “to learn (by heart).” The ～ます ending makes the sentence polite.
Why is the verb placed at the end of the sentence?
Japanese is a head-final language, meaning verbs (and other predicates) come at the end. The structure here is Topic → Time → Object → Verb (SOV order).
What is the basic word order in this sentence?
The order is:
- Topic (学生
- は)
- Time adverbial (毎日)
- Object (単語
- を)
- Verb (覚えます)
Can we omit 学生は if the context is clear?
Yes. In Japanese, if the topic or subject is already known from context, you can drop 学生は and simply say 毎日 単語を 覚えます。
Can we change the placement of 毎日 within the sentence?
Yes. Time adverbs are somewhat flexible. You could say:
学生は 単語を 毎日 覚えます。
Both versions are natural, though placing 毎日 earlier often sounds more neutral.
Does 覚えます indicate present tense or future tense?
Japanese uses a non-past form that covers both habitual/present and future actions. Here, 覚えます expresses a habitual action (“memorizes every day”).
What exactly is 単語, and how can we tell if it’s singular or plural?
単語 literally means “word” or “vocabulary item.” Japanese nouns do not change form for singular or plural; context (like “毎日”) implies that multiple words are memorized each day.