Breakdown of watasi ha kazoku ni yuki ga huru hi no syasin wo misemasita.
はha
topic particle
私watasi
I
をwo
direct object particle
がga
subject particle
のno
possessive case particle
にni
indirect object particle
日hi
day
写真syasin
photo
雪yuki
snow
降るhuru
to fall
家族kazoku
family
見せるmiseru
to show
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha kazoku ni yuki ga huru hi no syasin wo misemasita.
Why do we use は after 私 instead of が?
In Japanese, は marks the topic of the sentence (“as for …”), while が marks the grammatical subject, often introducing new information. Here, you’re simply stating what you did—showing photos—so you set 私 as the topic with は. If you used 私が, you’d be emphasizing “I” specifically as the doer in contrast to someone else.
Why is 家族 marked with に, and 写真 with を?
The verb 見せる (to show) is a transitive verb that takes a direct object (the thing shown) and an indirect object (the person you show it to).
- 写真 is what you’re showing, so it takes the direct-object marker を.
- 家族 is the recipient of that action (“to my family”), so you mark it with に.
Why does the subordinate clause use 雪が降る instead of 雪が降った (past tense)?
Relative clauses in Japanese default to the plain present tense when they describe habitual or generic events or when they simply define something. 雪が降る日 means “the days when snow falls” in general, not “the days when snow fell” at a specific past moment.
How exactly does 雪が降る日の写真 break down?
This is a nested modifier:
- 雪が降る = “(the) snow falls” (relative clause)
- 雪が降る日 = “the day(s) when snow falls”
- 雪が降る日の写真 = “photos of the days when snow falls”
Here, the relative clause 雪が降る modifies 日, and then の connects that whole phrase to 写真 in a genitive (“…’s photos” or “photos of …”).
What role does the の between 日 and 写真 play?
That の is the genitive particle linking two nouns. It indicates possession or a descriptive relationship:
“雪が降る日’s 写真” → “photos of days when snow falls.”
What does 見せました mean, and how is it formed?
見せました is the polite past tense of 見せる (to show).
- Dictionary form: 見せる
- Polite present: 見せます
- Polite past: 見せました
So 写真を見せました means “(I) showed (them) photos.”
Could we omit 私は in this sentence?
Yes. Japanese often drops the topic when it’s clear from context. If you’ve already established who’s doing the action, you can simply say:
家族に雪が降る日の写真を見せました。
Can I say 雪の日の写真 instead of 雪が降る日の写真? Do they mean the same?
Both are grammatically correct and mean “photos of snowy days,” but there is a nuance:
- 雪が降る日 literally specifies “the days when snow falls.”
- 雪の日 is a more compact, everyday expression for “snowy day.”
In most contexts they’re interchangeable, though 雪が降る日 can feel a bit more descriptive or formal.