Breakdown of kanja wa heiki da to iimashita.
はwa
topic particle
とto
quotative particle
だda
to be
言うiu
to say
Questions & Answers about kanja wa heiki da to iimashita.
Why is there a は after 患者?
は marks 患者 as the topic of the quoted statement.
So inside 患者は平気だ, the speaker is talking about the patient and saying something about that patient.
A useful way to think about it is:
- 患者は = as for the patient
- 平気だ = is fine / is okay
In Japanese, は often sets up what the sentence is about, rather than simply marking the grammatical subject the way English does.
What is と doing in this sentence?
と is the quotation particle here.
It marks the content of what was said:
- 患者は平気だ = the quoted statement
- と言いました = said
So the structure is:
- [quoted content] + と + 言いました
This is one of the most common patterns in Japanese for reporting speech or thoughts.
Examples:
- 行くと言いました = said that they would go
- 大丈夫だと言いました = said that it was okay
Why is there a だ after 平気?
