Text: Aru (Basics)

For this tutorial, we'll be covering a few things. Keep in mind that this is just the basics for the following grammar.

Today, we will be learning "aru".

item+がある
item+ga aru

We use the 'ga' particle to introduce or present the item before it. (Later on I'll go more in-depth about the differences between 'ga' and 'wa', but for now, remember to just use 'ga'.)

"item+ga aru" means "there is/are (item)". The "item" in question must be something inanimate (such as a building, thing, or plant [as confirmed by my old Japanese teacher]) or nonliving. This is important to remember while using "aru"!

Let's try out a few sentences:

あそこにきっさてんがあります。
Asoko ni kissaten ga arimasu.
Over there is a cafe. / There is a cafe over there.

Let's break things down a bit:

あそこに (asoko ni) = over there (far away from both speaker and listener[s])
きっさてんが (kissaten ga) = cafe
あります。 (arimasu.) = there is (it exists)

"Aru" conjugates the same as other verbs we have seen in previous tutorials. (Exceptions come later, but for now, they are the same.)

そこにじてんしゃがありません。
Soko ni jitensha ga arimasen.
There is not a bike there.

"Aru" requires the particle 'ni' for the place description (and it usually comes at the beginning of the sentence).

そこにさいふがありました。
Soko ni saifu ga arimashita.
There was a wallet there.

Another use for "aru" is to state that you have or own something.

ゲームボーイがあります。
Ge-mu bo-i ga arimasu.
I have a Game Boy.

とけいがありません。
Tokei ga arimasen.
I do not have a watch.

じかんがありますか。
Jikan ga arimasuka.
Do you have time?

Please note the difference between:
とけいがありません。
Tokei ga arimasen.
I do not have a watch.

and

とけいじゃありません。
Tokei ja arimasen.
It isn't a watch.

The latter of which is the negation of "desu" and not "arimasu".

And finally (for this tutorial), "aru" is also used to state when an event will take place.

月曜日にテストがあります。
げつようびにテストがあります。
Getsuyoubi ni tesuto ga arimasu.
There will be a test on Monday.

きのうにクラスがありませんでした。
Kinou ni kurasu ga arimasendeshita.
There was no class yesterday.

Remember that earlier I told you that some words do not use "ni" as their time particle. Please refer to this tutorial for further explanation (if you forgot): learningjapanese.deviantart.co…

あしたはデートがあります。
Ashita wa de-to ga arimasu.
Tomorrow I have a date.