Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha mada gakusei desu.

は is the topic marker, used to introduce or highlight what the sentence is about. が is the subject marker, often used for new or important information. In 私はまだ学生です, you’re simply stating something about yourself (a known topic), so は is the natural choice.

What does まだ mean in this sentence, and why is it placed before 学生?

まだ means still (it indicates the continuation of a state). Placing it before 学生 modifies the noun, so まだ学生 means “still a student.”

Why do we need です at the end of the sentence?

です is the polite copula (equivalent to “to be” in English) in its polite form. It links the topic (私) to the predicate noun (学生) and makes the statement polite.

Why is there no particle after 学生 before です?

When you use です with a noun predicate, there’s no extra particle between the noun and です. The pattern is simply [topic] は [noun] です.

Can we omit 私は and just say まだ学生です?

Yes. If the context makes it clear who you’re talking about, Japanese often drops pronouns. まだ学生です is perfectly natural when it’s understood that you mean “I’m still a student.”

What’s the difference between まだ + positive and まだ + negative?

With a positive verb or adjective (e.g., 学生です), まだ means still. With a negative form (e.g., 学生ではありません), まだ means not yet.

How would you say “I’m no longer a student” in Japanese?

You replace まだ with もう (already/no longer) and use the negative copula:
私はもう学生ではありません。

Why does the sentence order seem different from English?

Japanese follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) order, so the copula です (the “verb”) always comes at the end. The structure here is [topic] は [predicate] です.

I see spaces between each word here; does written Japanese normally use spaces?

No. Standard Japanese writing doesn’t use spaces between words. They’re often added in textbooks or learning materials to help beginners identify word boundaries.