Word
母 は 朝 に お茶 を 飲まないこと が ある。haha wa asa ni ocha o nomanaikoto ga aru.
Meaning
There are times when my mother doesn't drink tea in the morning.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of haha wa asa ni ocha o nomanaikoto ga aru.
はwa
topic particle
をo
direct object particle
飲むnomu
to drink
朝asa
morning
Questions & Answers about haha wa asa ni ocha o nomanaikoto ga aru.
Why is に used after 朝? Can we omit it?
The particle に marks 朝 as a specific time when something happens (“in the morning”).
- With 朝に, it’s clear you mean “at/in morning time.”
- In casual speech you can drop に and say 母は朝お茶を飲まないことがある, but that feels more like “morning tea” rather than “in the morning.” Using に removes ambiguity.
What does 飲まないことがある mean? Why isn’t it “never drinks” or “doesn’t drink”?
The pattern （Verb-ない form）＋ことがある expresses that there are occasions when the action does (or in this case doesn’t) happen: “sometimes…” or “there are times when…”.
- Positive: 行かないことがある = “There are times when [I/they] don’t go.”
- Negative: 飲まないことがある = “There are times when [she] doesn’t drink.”
Why do we need こと in 飲まないことがある? Couldn’t we say 飲まないがある?
Because がある requires a noun before it.
- こと is a noun that “turns” the verb phrase 飲まない into “the act/occurrence of not drinking.”
- Without こと, there’s no noun for がある to attach to, so 飲まないがある would be ungrammatical.
Why is the particle が used before ある instead of は?
