ある and いる

Japanese has two verbs for "there is", and which one you pick depends on what you are talking about. あります is for things that do not move themselves: books, buildings, money, time. います is for things that do: people, animals, anything with a will of its own. English makes no such distinction, so this is a choice you have to make consciously at first, and it is the single most reliable way for a listener to spot a beginner.

The basic pattern

Put the place first with に, then the thing with が, then the verb.

部屋へやに猫ねこがいます heya ni neko ga imasu There is a cat in the room

机つくえの上うえに本ほんがあります tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu There is a book on the desk

教室きょうしつに学生がくせいがいます kyoushitsu ni gakusei ga imasu There is a student in the classroom

Notice that the new thing being introduced takes が, not は. This is the same rule you met when は and が were first pulled apart: が presents something the listener does not yet know about, while は takes something already on the table and comments on it. That is why the pattern flips when you already have the thing in mind and want to say where it is.

本ほんは机つくえの上うえにあります hon wa tsukue no ue ni arimasu The book is on the desk

田中たなかさんは会社かいしゃにいます tanaka san wa kaisha ni imasu Mr Tanaka is at the office

Both orders are correct, and the difference is what the sentence is answering. XにYがあります answers "what is there?". YはXにあります answers "where is it?".

Words for where

Location words are nouns, and they attach to another noun with の. 机つくえの上うえ is literally "the desk's top", and the whole phrase then takes に.

銀行ぎんこうは駅えきの前まえにあります ginkou wa eki no mae ni arimasu The bank is in front of the station

かばんの中なかに財布さいふがあります kaban no naka ni saifu ga arimasu There is a wallet in the bag

犬いぬは車くるまの下したにいます inu wa kuruma no shita ni imasu The dog is under the car

間あいだ needs two nouns, joined by と.

銀行ぎんこうと駅えきの間あいだにあります ginkou to eki no aida ni arimasu It is between the bank and the station

Asking where something is

The question word is どこ, and it slots straight into the position the place would occupy.

トイレはどこにありますか toire wa doko ni arimasu ka Where is the toilet

田中たなかさんはどこにいますか tanaka san wa doko ni imasu ka Where is Mr Tanaka

In shops and stations you will more often hear the shorter トイレはどこですか, using plain です, and it means the same thing. Both are polite. The version with あります sounds a shade more careful, and it is the one to practise, because it forces you to keep making the choice between the two verbs.

Not there, and was there

Both verbs behave normally in the negative and the past, which you already know how to build.

部屋へやに誰だれもいません heya ni dare mo imasen There is nobody in the room

冷蔵庫れいぞうこに何なにもありません reizouko ni nani mo arimasen There is nothing in the fridge

昨日きのう、家いえに友ともだちがいました kinou, ie ni tomodachi ga imashita A friend was at my house yesterday

Those first two sentences show a useful pairing: 誰だれも and 何なにも take a negative verb and mean nobody and nothing. Never mix them, 誰だれもありません is not a sentence.

The mistake everyone makes

Using あります for a person is the error to guard against, and it happens because English "there is" gives no warning. 先生せんせいがあります says roughly that a teacher exists as an object, which is as strange in Japanese as it sounds in English.

The test is not grammatical gender or animacy in the biological sense, it is whether the thing moves under its own power. So:

• People, dogs, cats, fish, insects: います
• Books, cars, trees, buildings, mountains: あります

Plants take あります even though they are alive, because they stay put. A parked car takes あります, but a taxi with a driver in it can take います when you are thinking of it as a vehicle in motion looking for a fare. Robots and dolls sit on the boundary and speakers disagree, which is a sign that the rule really is about self-propelled motion rather than biology.

Having, and abstract things

あります stretches beyond physical objects. Anything you possess or have scheduled uses it, and here the thing takes が while the person, if mentioned, takes は.

時間じかんがありません jikan ga arimasen I do not have time

明日あした、テストがあります ashita, tesuto ga arimasu There is a test tomorrow

私わたしは車くるまがあります watashi wa kuruma ga arimasu I have a car

います does the same job for relationships, since the thing possessed is a person.

兄あにが二人ふたりいます ani ga futari imasu I have two older brothers

Vocabulary

One more thing worth knowing about these two verbs: they are the reason the て form section from two lessons ago works at all. The います in 食たべています is this います, and the state it describes is the state of an action being under way. Japanese keeps reusing a small number of pieces, and this is a good example of one earning its keep twice.

You can now describe a room, give directions to a shop and say what you have. One lesson remains, and it is about what you like and what you want.