Breakdown of watasi ha niwa no hana ni mizu wo yarimasu.
はha
topic particle
私watasi
I
をwo
direct object particle
水mizu
water
のno
possessive case particle
にni
indirect object particle
花hana
flower
庭niwa
garden
やるyaru
to give
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha niwa no hana ni mizu wo yarimasu.
Why is は used after 私 instead of が?
The particle は marks the topic of the sentence (“As for me…”). It sets 私 as what we’re talking about. Using が would emphasize 私 as the subject in a neutral way, but here we introduce 私 to comment on what follows.
What does 庭の花 mean, and why is の used?
The の between 庭 (garden) and 花 (flowers) indicates possession or attribution. 庭の花 literally means “flowers of the garden,” i.e. “garden flowers.”
Why is 花 followed by に instead of を?
In this sentence, 花 is the target or recipient of the action (receiving water). Japanese uses に to mark the entity that something is given to or done for, so we say “to the flowers” with 花に.
Why is 水 marked with を?
水 is the direct object here—it’s what you give. The particle を marks the thing being acted upon by the verb やる.
What exactly does 水をやります mean? Is やります a verb on its own?
Yes. やる (“to give” in this context) is the verb, and 水 is its object. Together 水をやります means “I give (or supply) water.” It’s not a compound verb but a normal object–verb structure.
Why use やります instead of あげます?
Both verbs can mean “to give,” but やる is commonly used for giving to animals, plants, or less formal situations. あげる is more polite or used among equals/humans. For watering plants, やる is the usual choice.
Could I say 水をかけます instead? How is that different?
Yes, you could say 水をかけます, which means “to splash or sprinkle water.” かける often implies a more forceful or splashing action, whereas やる implies caring for or tending the plant with water.
Why is 私 included? I thought Japanese often drops the subject.
You’re right—Japanese frequently omits the subject if it’s clear from context. Here 私 is included for clarity or emphasis (e.g. “I, personally, water the garden flowers”). In a real conversation, you could drop it: 庭の花に水をやります.
Why is the verb in the polite form やります instead of plain やる?
やります is the polite (masu) form of やる and is used in formal or polite speech. The plain form やる is perfectly natural in casual conversation.
Why isn’t there a plural marker on 花?
Japanese nouns don’t normally change form for singular vs. plural. Context tells you whether you mean one flower or many. Here, 庭の花 naturally refers to all the flowers in the garden.