Learn Hardcore Japanese: kodomotati ha kouen de genkina koe wo agemasu. - The children raise their voices energetically in the park.

In many real sentences, 子供 alone is fine when it’s obvious you’re talking about more than one child. But 子供たち emphasizes the plurality a bit more, which fits well with the image of many kids making lively noise.

Why is it 元気な声 and not 元気声 or 元気に声?

元気 is a na-adjective (形容動詞), so when it directly modifies a noun, it needs な:

元気な声 – “lively/energetic voice(s)”

Patterns:

na-adjective + noun → 元気な声, きれいな花, 静かな町

元気声 is ungrammatical because na-adjectives can’t directly attach to nouns without な.

元気に声 would use 元気に as an adverb, modifying a verb, not a noun. For example:

元気に話す – speak energetically
元気に歌う – sing energetically

So:

元気な声 = a lively voice (adjective + noun)
元気に話す = speak in a lively way (adverb + verb)

What does 声を上げます literally mean, and what is its natural meaning in this sentence?

Literally:

声 – voice
を – object marker
上げます – raise / lift (polite form)

So 声を上げます literally = “(they) raise their voices.”

In natural English, depending on context, this can mean:

call out / cry out
shout
let out (a sound, a cry, etc.)
break into (cheers, laughter, etc.)

With 元気な声を上げます, the image is something like:

“they let out lively voices”
“they call out cheerfully”
“they raise cheerful voices”

It’s not a technical or rare expression; it’s a fairly common way to talk about people producing some kind of noticeable voice or sound.

Why use 声を上げます instead of 叫びます (“to shout”) or 話します (“to speak”)?

Each verb has a different nuance:

声を上げます
Neutral, somewhat descriptive/poetic. Emphasizes “voices rising / being heard,” not necessarily loud or angry. It fits very well with 元気な and with a scene of children playing.
叫びます – “to shout / scream / yell”
Stronger, often suggests loudness or emotional intensity (anger, fear, excitement).
子供たちは公園で叫びます feels like “The children scream/yell in the park” – it could sound noisy or even rowdy.
話します – “to talk / speak”
Focuses on talking rather than the soundscape.
子供たちは公園で話します just means “The children talk in the park,” and loses the image of lively voices ringing out.

So 元気な声を上げます paints a more vivid, slightly literary picture of cheerful voices rising in the park, without the harshness of “scream” or the plainness of “talk.”

Why is 声 followed by を? What is を doing here?

を marks the direct object of a verb—the thing directly affected by the action.

声を上げます = “(they) raise voice(s)”
- 声 – direct object
- 上げます – verb

Other similar patterns:

手を挙げます – raise (your) hand
音楽を聞きます – listen to music
本を読みます – read a book

So を here tells you that 声 is what is being “raised.”

What tense/aspect is 上げます? Does it mean “are raising” or “raise (habitually)”?

Japanese 〜ます form without extra aspect markers (like ている) is a neutral non-past form. It can cover:

Present habitual/general truth:
- “Children raise lively voices in the park.”
Future:
- “(They) will raise lively voices in the park.” (if context makes it future)

It does not specifically mean “are raising right now” the way English present continuous does. For a clearly “right now” feeling, you’d typically use 〜ています:

子供たちは公園で元気な声を上げています。
“The children are raising cheerful voices in the park / are cheerfully calling out in the park.”

In many descriptive contexts, the simple 上げます can describe a typical scene or a narrative present.

How would this sentence look in casual (informal) speech?

The main change is dropping the polite ます form to the plain 辞書形 (dictionary form):

Polite:
子供たちは公園で元気な声を上げます。
Casual:
子供たちは公園で元気な声を上げる。

Other possible casual tweaks:

In spoken conversation, は might be pronounced like わ, but it’s still written は.
In context, people might drop 子供たちは if it’s already clear who they’re talking about, e.g.:
公園で元気な声を上げる。

But structurally, just changing 上げます → 上げる is enough to make it casual.

Can I change the word order, like 公園で子供たちは元気な声を上げます? Is that still correct?

Yes, Japanese word order is fairly flexible as long as particles stay with the words they mark.

These are all grammatically fine (each with slightly different emphasis):

子供たちは公園で元気な声を上げます。
(neutral: “As for the children, at the park they raise lively voices.”)
公園で子供たちは元気な声を上げます。
Puts a little more emphasis at the start on “in the park”.
元気な声を子供たちは公園で上げます。
Fronts 元気な声 for stylistic emphasis (more literary or dramatic).

In everyday usage, the original order (子供たちは公園で元気な声を上げます) is the most natural and typical.

Could we say 子供たちが公園で元気な声を上げます instead? What changes?

Yes, 子供たちが公園で元気な声を上げます is grammatically correct.

Nuance:

子供たちは… – “As for the children…”
Topic-oriented; often used for general descriptions, background information, or when the children are already known in context.
子供たちが… – “It’s the children who…”
More subject-focused; can feel like:
- specifying who performs the action, or
- contrasting with someone else (e.g., not adults, but children)

Without context, は sounds a bit more like a neutral scene-setting description, which fits this kind of sentence well. が is fine, but may feel slightly more like you’re identifying the doer.

Is there a more “everyday” way to say “Children are playing energetically in the park” instead of talking about “raising voices”?

Yes. If you want to focus on playing energetically rather than on voices, a very natural everyday phrasing is:

子供たちは公園で元気に遊んでいます。
“The children are playing energetically in the park.”

Key differences:

元気に遊んでいます – “are playing energetically” (adverb 元気に
- verb 遊ぶ in progressive 〜ています)
This focuses on the activity of playing, not specifically on the sound of their voices.

So:

元気な声を上げます – imagery of lively voices / shouting / calling out.
元気に遊んでいます – emphasizes that they are actively and energetically playing.