haha wa asa ni ocha o nomanaikoto ga aru.

Word
母はは　は　朝あさ　に　お茶ちゃ　を　飲のまないこと　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
Hardcore Japanese
Lesson
Lesson 8
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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?

がある is the neutral way to state existence of something (in this case, “occasions of not drinking tea”).

  • はある would contrast or emphasize the topic (“As for such occasions, they do exist”), which sounds odd here.
  • So we say 飲まないことがある to mean “there are such occasions.”
Could we say 母は朝お茶を飲まない時がある instead? What’s the difference between 時 and こと?

Yes, 時がある is another way to say “there are times when…”

  • 時 points to actual moments or periods: “at certain times.”
  • こと is more abstract—referring to the fact/experience itself.
    Both convey “sometimes she doesn’t drink tea in the morning,” but 時がある feels a bit more concrete.
Why does the sentence start with 母は? Could we say 私の母は or drop it entirely?
  • 母は sets “Mother” as the topic.
  • You could say 私の母は (“my mother”) if you need to clarify whose mother.
  • In context (e.g., talking about your own family), it’s natural to just say 母は.
  • Omitting the topic is possible in casual speech if the speaker and listener both know you’re talking about your mother, but in a standalone sentence you usually include it.
Is this expression used in both spoken and written Japanese?

Yes. ～ないことがある is common in:

  • Casual conversation: “うちのお母さんは朝にお茶を飲まないことがある。”
  • Written or formal contexts: it stays the same, though you might see more polite language elsewhere (e.g., “飲まない場合がある”).