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gakusei ha kokuban wo mimasu.

学生がくせい　は　黒板こくばん　を　見みます。gakusei ha kokuban wo mimasu.
Students look at the blackboard.
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Questions & Answers about gakusei ha kokuban wo mimasu.

What is the breakdown of each component in 学生 は 黒板 を 見ます?

• 学生 (がくせい) – noun, “student”
• は – topic‐marking particle (sets “学生” as the topic)
• 黒板 (こくばん) – noun, “blackboard”
• を – direct‐object particle (marks “黒板” as what is being looked at)
• 見ます (みます) – verb, polite present form of 見る, “to look/see”

Why is は used instead of が to mark 学生?

• は marks the topic (“As for the student…”), focusing on what the student does.
• が would mark 学生 as the grammatical subject in a neutral declaration (“The student does X”), often introducing new info.
• Using は implies we’re talking about a known or previously mentioned student.

Can we replace 見ます with 見る?

Yes. 見る is the dictionary (plain) form.
• 学生は黒板を見ます。 – polite/formal speech (e.g. in class, talking to a teacher).
• 学生は黒板を見る。 – plain style (e.g. diary, talking with friends).
The meaning stays “Students look at the blackboard,” but the tone shifts.

Why is the verb placed at the end of the sentence?

Japanese typically follows Subject-Object-Verb order.

  1. Topic/Subject first (学生 は)
  2. Object next (黒板 を)
  3. Verb last (見ます)
Why is を used for 黒板?
を marks the direct object of a transitive verb. Since 見る/見ます is transitive (“to look at something”), 黒板 must take を to show it’s being looked at.
There’s no “the” or “a” before 黒板. How do we express “the blackboard” vs. “a blackboard”?

Japanese does not have articles like “a” or “the.” Context does the work.
• If listeners know which board you mean, it’s understood as “the blackboard.”
• If you want to emphasize indefiniteness (“a blackboard”), you might add ある: 学生はある黒板を見ます。 (“The students look at a (some) blackboard.”)

Could we omit 学生 は if context is clear?

Yes. Japanese often drops topics or subjects when they’re understood.
• （学生は）黒板を見ます。 – perfectly natural if it’s already clear you’re talking about students.

Is there any nuance difference between 学生 and 生徒 for “student”?

• 学生 typically refers to college/university students.
• 生徒 (せいと) usually means K–12 students (elementary, middle, high school).
Choose based on educational level. In a classroom context for younger kids, 生徒は黒板を見ます might feel more appropriate.