Word
いつも は 朝 の 電車 は 満員 だ と 彼 は 言う けど、 今日 は 満員 で は ない みたい。itsumo wa asa no densha wa manin da to kare wa iu kedo, kyou wa manin de wa nai mitai.
Meaning
He says the morning trains are usually packed, but today they don’t seem full.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of itsumo wa asa no densha wa manin da to kare wa iu kedo, kyou wa manin de wa nai mitai.
はwa
topic particle
今日kyou
today
のno
possessive case particle
朝asa
morning
Questions & Answers about itsumo wa asa no densha wa manin da to kare wa iu kedo, kyou wa manin de wa 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?
