がいる | Grammar

Structure

[noun (place)] + に + [noun (person/animal)] + が + いる [noun (person/animal)] + は + [noun (place)] + に + いる [noun (person)] + には + [noun (person/animal)] + が + いる

Description

がいる says that a person or an animal is there. The one that is there takes が, and the place takes に and usually comes first. いる is the plain form and います the polite one.

。

There is a cat in the room.

。

There are children in the park.

。

There is a bird over there.

いる or ある

いる is for people and animals, anything that moves by itself. Things take ある, and so do plants.

。

There is a dog in the garden.

。

There is a tree in the garden.

× 庭に木がいる → 庭に木がある

Saying where someone is

When the person or animal is already the topic, it takes は instead of が and comes first. The place follows.

。

The cat is in the room.

。

Where is Tanaka?

Having family and pets

English "have" a sister or a dog is がいる in Japanese. The one who has them takes は or には.

。

I have a younger sister.

。

She has two dogs.

きごう？

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Usage notes

These go beyond saying that someone is there.

Someone and nobody

with いる asks whether anyone is there. takes the negative and means "nobody".

きごう？

Is anyone there?

。

There was nobody at home.

Past and negative

いる is a る-verb: いない, いた, いなかった, and いません, いました in the polite form.

。

There was a cat here a moment ago.

。

There was a bird here yesterday.

Examples

。

There is a dog in the yard.

。

There are students in the classroom.

。

There is a bird over there.

。

I have an older brother.

きごう？

Are there fish in this river?

。

There is nobody at home today.

、。

Yesterday, there was a cat in front of the station.

。

There is something up in that tree.

きごう？

Is someone in the next room?

。

She has three children.

、。

There was a dog here until just now, but it's gone.

。

There are many frogs in the pond.

References

がいるBunpro