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itumo ha asa no densya ha manin da to kare ha iu kedo, kyou ha manin de ha nai mitai.

いつも　は　朝あさ　の　電車でんしゃ　は　満員まにん　だ　と　彼かれ　は　言いう　けど、　今日きょう　は　満員まにん　で　は　ない　みたい。itumo ha asa no densya ha manin da to kare ha iu kedo, kyou ha manin de ha nai mitai.
He says the morning trains are usually packed, but today they don’t seem full.
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Questions & Answers about itumo ha asa no densya ha manin da to kare ha iu kedo, kyou ha manin de ha nai mitai.

Why are there so many は in the first half (いつもは, 朝の電車は, 彼は)? Is that okay?

Yes. Japanese can layer topics/contrast with multiple は.

  • いつもは: contrastive topic, “as for usually/under normal circumstances…”
  • 朝の電車は: main topic, “as for the morning train(s)…”
  • 彼は: topic/contrast for the speaker, “as for him, he says…”

Stacking は like this is natural when you want to set up context and contrast. If you want fewer は, you could say:

  • 朝の電車はいつも満員だと彼は言うけど…
  • 彼は、朝の電車はいつも満員だと言うけど…
What does the と after 満員だ do in 満員だと彼は言う?

It’s the quotative particle. It marks the content of what’s being said/thought/etc.

  • Noun/na-adjective + だ + と: 学生だと言う, 静かだと言う
  • i‑adjective + と: 高いと言う
  • Verb (plain) + と: 行くと言う

So 満員だと彼は言う = “He says (it’s) full.”

Why is it 満員だ (plain) instead of 満員です inside the part before 言う?

Subordinate/quoted clauses before verbs like 言う are normally in plain form, regardless of the politeness of the main sentence:

  • 満員だと言います。 (polite main verb, plain inside) If you report his exact polite wording as a direct quote, you keep です:
  • 満員です、と彼は言いました。 But with indirect quoting using と, plain だ is standard.
What does けど add here?

けど means “but/although,” and here it contrasts what he says with today’s reality. Nuance:

  • けど is casual/neutral and very common.
  • More formal: けれど(も) or が.
  • Sentence-initial alternative for a stronger break: でも.
Why いつもは instead of just いつも?

いつもは is contrastive: “usually/normally (but this time is different).” It sets up the exception that follows.

  • いつもは朝の電車は満員だ… implies “but today it isn’t.”
  • いつも朝の電車は満員だ… is a plain statement “the morning train is always full,” with less explicit contrast.
What exactly does 朝の電車 mean, and why use の?

朝の電車 literally “morning’s train,” i.e., trains in the morning. の links two nouns (like “noun-of-noun”):

  • Time + の + noun is common: 朝のニュース (morning news), 夜の散歩 (a nighttime walk). You could say 朝に乗る電車, but 朝の電車 is shorter and more natural.
Is 満員 a noun or an adjective? Why can it take だ?

満員 is a noun (often used like a na-adjective). As a predicate it uses the copula:

  • 満員だ (it’s full)
  • Attributive: 満員の電車 (a packed train) Contrast with 混んでいる (is crowded), which is a verb phrase and less absolute than 満員.
Why is the negative 満員ではない and not just 満員ない?

Nouns/na‑adjectives negate with the copula’s negative:

  • N/na‑adj + ではない (neutral) / じゃない (casual) So: 満員ではない or 満員じゃない. You’ll also see 満員でない (more written/formal). There’s no form 満員ない.
What does みたい mean here, and how do I use it?

みたい (だ) expresses the speaker’s inference: “it seems/looks like.”

  • N/na‑adj: 満員ではないみたい (だ) (it seems not full)
  • Verb: 雨が降るみたい (だ) (looks like it’ll rain)
  • i‑adj: 高いみたい (だ) It behaves like a na‑adjective: みたいなN, みたいにV.

Quick comparison:

  • ようだ: similar meaning, more formal/written.
  • らしい: based on hearsay or strong inference from typical traits.
  • Appearance‑そう: can’t attach directly to nouns like 満員; you’d say 混んでなさそう (doesn’t look crowded).
Is みたい casual? How do I make the whole sentence more polite?

Yes, みたい is colloquial. Polite options:

  • Keep みたい but add です: …満員ではないみたいです。
  • Switch to ようです for a more formal tone:
    彼は朝の電車はいつも満員だと言いますが、今日は満員ではないようです。
Why 彼は言う and not 言っている or 言った?
  • 言う: simple present; can also imply a general/habitual claim (“he says (so)”).
  • 言っている: ongoing/repeated reporting (“he’s (always) saying…” or “he’s saying (right now)”).
  • 言った / 言っていた: past (“he said” / “he was saying”).
    Choose based on whether it’s a habitual statement, current remark, or past report.
Can I put 彼は before the quote (彼は満員だと言う) instead of after it (満員だと彼は言う)? Any difference?

Both are fine. Japanese allows the quoted clause to come before or after the speaker:

  • 彼は朝の電車は満員だと言う…
  • 朝の電車は満員だと彼は言う… Fronting the quote can emphasize the content; fronting 彼は can emphasize the speaker.
Why use は after 朝の電車 and 今日 instead of が?

は marks topics and contrast. For general/habitual statements you typically use は:

  • 朝の電車はいつも満員だ (as for the morning train, it’s always full) 今日 with は is contrastive: today (unlike usual). Using が would focus on the subject itself, less on contrast:
  • 朝の電車が満員だ highlights that the morning train (as opposed to some other train) is full.
In 今日は満員ではないみたい, what is the subject? It isn’t stated.
It’s understood from context: the morning train. Japanese often drops known elements. The topic 今日は plus the prior context (朝の電車) makes the meaning clear: “Today, (the morning train) doesn’t seem full.”
Can I use って instead of と for the quotation?

Yes. って is a casual quotative:

  • 満員だって彼は言うけど…
  • 彼は朝の電車はいつも満員だって言うけど… It’s common in speech and informal writing.
Could I use でも or が instead of けど?

Yes, with small stylistic differences:

  • …と言う。 でも、今日は満員ではないみたい。 (sentence break; conversational)
  • …と言いますが、今日は満員ではないようです。 (more formal/polite)
  • …と言うが、今日は… (formal/written tone)
Do I need quotation marks around 満員だ? And are the spaces in the sentence normal?
  • With と you usually don’t need quotation marks; と already marks the quote. Writers may add Japanese quotes in more careful writing, but they’re optional here.
  • Standard Japanese doesn’t use spaces between words; they were added for learners. In normal text you’d write it without spaces.