3.8 Existence: ある・いる

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Overview

Learn how Japanese expresses existence using ある and いる. This lesson shows how to talk about where things and people exist, and how to distinguish living and non-living subjects.

Japanese uses two different verbs to express existence: ある and いる.

ある is used for things that are not alive, such as objects, places, concepts, and events.

。

There is a book on the desk.

。

There is a station nearby.

The negative form of ある is irregular: ある → ない.

。

There is no problem.

。

There used to be a shop here.

いる is used for living beings, such as people and animals.

。

There is a dog at home.

。

There was a cat at home yesterday.

When using ある or いる, the location where something exists is marked with に.

。

There is a TV in the room.

。

The teacher is in the classroom.

This use of に is different from で, which marks where an action takes place.

Dialogue

へやにてえぶるテーブルがあります。てえぶるテーブルのうえ上にほん本があります。

へやにてれびテレビもあります。でも、へやにいすはありません。

いえ家にねこがいます。ねこはそふぁソファのうえ上にいます。

きのうはいえ家にともだち友だちがいました。でも、きょうはだれもいません。

ちかく近くにえきがあります。えきのまえ前にこうえんがあります。

There is a table in the room. There is a book on the table.

There is also a TV in the room. But there is no chair in the room.

There is a cat at home. The cat is on the sofa.

Yesterday, there was a friend at home. But today, there is no one.

There is a station nearby. There is a park in front of the station.

New words

Grammar

Title	Description
ある	existence of non-living things
いる	existence of living things
に	location of existence

3.7 To do: する

3.9 Volitional Form

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