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otouto ha houkago ni sakkaasuruno ga suki desu.

弟おとうと　は　放課後ほうかご　に　サッカーするの　が　好すき　です。otouto ha houkago ni sakkaasuruno ga suki desu.
My younger brother likes to play soccer after school.
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Questions & Answers about otouto ha houkago ni sakkaasuruno ga suki desu.

Why is は used after 弟? Is 弟 the subject of the sentence?

は is the topic marker, not the basic subject marker.

  • 弟は means “As for my younger brother…” or “My younger brother (speaking about him)…”
  • The part that is grammatically the “subject” of 好き is actually サッカーするの (the thing he likes).

So the structure is:

  • 弟は – topic (what we’re talking about)
  • サッカーするのが – subject of 好き (what is liked)
  • 好きです – predicate (“is liked” / “likes”)

You could, in theory, say 弟が放課後にサッカーするのが好きです, but using は here makes 弟 the topic and sounds more natural when you’re introducing or talking about him in general.

What does に do after 放課後? Why 放課後に and not just 放課後?

に here is a time marker. It indicates when something happens.

  • 放課後に = “after school (at that time)”

You’ll often see に with specific times:

  • ３時に – at 3 o’clock
  • 月曜日に – on Monday
  • 誕生日に – on (my) birthday

With some time expressions, に can be dropped (especially in casual speech), so 放課後サッカーするのが好きです is not impossible, but 放課後に is the textbook‑clear version and sounds very natural.

Why is it サッカーするのが好き and not just サッカーが好き?

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things.

  • サッカーが好きです
    → He likes soccer (the sport in general).

  • サッカーするのが好きです
    → He likes playing soccer (the activity).

The するの part turns “to play soccer” into a noun‑like phrase:

  • サッカーする – to play soccer
  • サッカーするの – playing soccer (as a thing)

So the sentence focuses on the activity of playing, not just the sport as an object or concept.

What is the role of の in サッカーするのが好き?

Here の is a nominalizer: it turns a verb phrase into a noun‑like phrase.

  • サッカーする – a verb phrase (to play soccer)
  • サッカーするの – a nominalized phrase (the playing of soccer / playing soccer)

Because 好き is an adjective that attaches to nouns or noun‑like things, we need this nominalization:

  • ✖ サッカーするが好き – ungrammatical
  • ✔ サッカーするのが好き – grammatical, because サッカーするの functions like a noun.

You can think:
X のが好きです ≈ I like X‑ing / He likes X‑ing.

Why is が placed before 好き and not after 弟?

In the pattern X が 好きです, X is the thing that is liked (the grammatical subject of 好き).

In this sentence:

  • サッカーするのが – what is liked
  • 好きです – is liked

弟 is only the topic, marked by は, and is understood as the one doing the liking. Japanese often separates topic (は) from subject (が):

  • 弟は サッカーするのが 好きです。
    → As for my younger brother, playing soccer is what he likes.

So が must mark サッカーするの, not 弟.

Why is it 好きです instead of something like 好きがある? Isn’t 好き like a noun?

好き is treated as a na‑adjective (形容動詞) in modern Japanese, not as a regular verb.

  • Pattern: X が 好きです = (someone) likes X / X is liked (by someone)

You do not say 好きがある to mean “to like”. Instead:

  • 犬が好きです。 – I like dogs.
  • 音楽が好きです。 – I like music.

Because it’s an adjective, you use です / だ after it (for politeness / plain style), not ある / いる:

  • Polite: 好きです
  • Plain: 好きだ
Why is the verb する in dictionary form, not します? Shouldn’t polite sentences use します?

When a verb is embedded inside a larger structure (before の, こと, と, etc.), it normally appears in its plain (dictionary) form, even if the main sentence is polite.

So:

  • サッカーするのが好きです。 – polite main verb (です)
  • The embedded verb する stays in plain form.

Compare:

  • 本を読むのが好きです。 – I like reading books.
  • 日本語を勉強するのが楽しいです。 – Studying Japanese is fun.

Using サッカーしますのが好きです is ungrammatical; します doesn’t go before の / こと in this pattern.

Why is there no を after サッカー? Shouldn’t it be サッカーをする?

Both are possible:

  • サッカーをする – the full form
  • サッカーする – を omitted

In casual and even fairly standard speech, を is often dropped with common する‑verbs:

  • 勉強をする → 勉強する
  • 練習をする → 練習する
  • サッカーをする → サッカーする

Omitting を here is natural and doesn’t change the meaning. If you say サッカーをするのが好きです, it’s also perfectly correct, just a little more explicit.

What’s the difference between 〜するのが好き and 〜することが好き?

Both の and こと can nominalize a verb, and both can appear before が好き.

  • サッカーするのが好きです。
  • サッカーすることが好きです。

Meaning: essentially the same – “(He) likes playing soccer.”

Nuances (small, and often ignorable at beginner level):

  • の tends to sound a bit more colloquial / everyday.
  • こと can sound a bit more formal / abstract, and is common in written or somewhat formal speech.

In ordinary spoken Japanese, 〜するのが好き is very common and totally natural.

Can the word order be changed, like 放課後に弟はサッカーするのが好きです?

Word order in Japanese is more flexible than in English because particles mark the roles. You can move some elements around, but the most natural, neutral order for this sentence is:

  • 弟は 放課後に サッカーするのが 好きです。

Other orders are possible, e.g.:

  • 放課後に弟はサッカーするのが好きです。
  • サッカーするのが弟は放課後に好きです。 (grammatical but feels awkward and unnatural)

As a learner, it’s safest and most natural to keep:

  1. Topic (弟は)
  2. Time (放課後に)
  3. Verb phrase (サッカーするのが)
  4. Predicate (好きです)
Why is it 弟 and not 弟さん? How do politeness and whose brother it is affect this?

弟 without さん normally refers to the speaker’s own younger brother.

  • 弟は〜 – my younger brother …
  • 弟さんは〜 – someone else’s younger brother …

In Japanese, you usually don’t add さん to your own family members when speaking about them in neutral style. You do add さん (or another honorific) when referring to the listener’s or a third person’s family.

So:

  • Talking about your own brother: 弟は放課後にサッカーするのが好きです。
  • Talking politely about someone else’s brother: 弟さんは放課後にサッカーをするのが好きですか。