Breakdown of ha ga itai kara, kusuri wo nonda.
をwo
direct object particle
飲むnomu
to drink
がga
subject particle
からkara
reason particle
〜た〜ta
past tense
歯ha
tooth
痛いitai
painful
薬kusuri
medicine
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Questions & Answers about ha ga itai kara, kusuri wo nonda.
What is the role of the particle が after 歯?
The particle が marks 歯 as the subject of the adjective 痛い. In Japanese, adjectives like 痛い behave like verbs in that they need a subject. So 歯が痛い literally means “(My) tooth hurts.”
Why is から used here instead of another conjunction?
から means “because” and indicates a reason. By using 痛いから, the speaker explains the cause for their next action. It’s more direct than ので and often used in casual speech.
Could we use は instead of が in 歯が痛い? What’s the difference?
You could say 歯は痛い but it changes the nuance.
- 歯が痛い introduces new information—“My tooth hurts.”
- 歯は痛い contrasts or emphasizes the tooth’s pain, as in “As for my tooth, it does hurt (though something else might not).”
Why is there a comma after から?
Japanese often uses a comma to separate clauses, especially before the main clause in spoken or informal writing. Here it signals a pause: “Because my tooth hurt, (so) I took medicine.”
Why is 飲んだ in the past tense instead of present?
飲んだ is the plain past form of 飲む (“to drink”). It tells us the action (taking medicine) has already happened. The speaker is narrating what they did as a result of the pain.
What does the object marker を do in 薬を飲んだ?
The particle を marks 薬 as the direct object of the verb 飲んだ. It tells us what was drunk. So 薬を飲んだ means “drank medicine.”
Could I say 歯が痛くて、薬を飲んだ instead of 痛いから?
Yes. 歯が痛くて uses the て-form of 痛い to connect clauses. The nuance is slightly different:
- 痛いから states a direct reason (“because it hurt…”).
- 痛くて simply links the fact of the pain to the action, sounding more like “My tooth hurt, so I took medicine.” Both are natural, but から places stronger emphasis on causation.
Why is the subject (like “I”) omitted in this sentence?
Japanese often omits pronouns when they’re clear from context. Here, it’s obvious that the speaker is talking about themselves. Adding 私は would be possible but redundant in casual speech.
Is there any nuance in the word order here? Could I say 薬を飲んだから、歯が痛い?
No. That order would change the meaning to “Because I took medicine, my tooth hurts,” which doesn’t make sense. The causal clause (歯が痛いから) must come first, followed by the result (薬を飲んだ). Japanese typically follows the pattern [Reason] から, [Result].