
Questions & Answers about asita siken ga arimasu.
あります is the polite form of the intransitive verb ある, meaning “to exist” (for inanimate things or events).
- です is the copula “to be,” used to equate or describe (e.g., 学生です “(I) am a student”).
- To express that something exists (like an exam), you need ある/あります, not です.
Japanese distinguishes between animate and inanimate existence:
- いる/います for people and animals (animate)
- ある/あります for everything else (inanimate, events, abstract things)
An exam is not animate, so you must use あります.
が often introduces new or important information—“there exists an exam.”
If you use は (明日試験はあります), it would sound like you’re contrasting or emphasizing “as for the exam tomorrow…” which is less natural unless you’re comparing it to something else.
In 試験があります, 試験 is the subject, and the existence verb ある doesn’t need an owner. Contextually it often implies “we have an exam.” If you want to specify the person who has it, you can add an indirect object with に:
明日 私たちに 試験があります (“There is an exam for us tomorrow”).
Because it ends in ます, あります is the polite form. The plain (dictionary) form is ある:
Plain: 明日試験がある。
Polite: 明日試験があります。