What's the difference between wa and ga?
The particle wa indicates that the noun preceding it is the topic of the sentence. In most of the model sentences given, the subject and the topic of each esntecnce coincide; however, the topic may or may not be identical witht the subject. Adverbs and direct objects mau becaome the topic, also.
The particle wa may sometimes indicate the meaning of contrast. In general, when wa appears with a noun at the sentence initial position, it has the meaning of topic; otheriwse, it has a contrastive meaning.
The particle ga is the subject marker. In meaning and function it si different from wa. When interrogatives are the subjects of pronominal questions, only ga occurs after the interrogatives, and the partical wa never occurs there.
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. In addition to the great explanation by Jessica10, here is my favorite site on particles:
http://www.timwerx.net/language/particles.htm
The difference between "wa" and "ga" in Japanese is in their grammatical functions.
The particle "wa" is used to indicate the topic of the sentence. It comes after the noun or phrase that is being focused on or discussed. However, it's important to note that the topic doesn't always have to be the subject of the sentence. It can also be an adverb or a direct object. In some cases, "wa" can also be used to indicate contrast. When "wa" appears at the beginning of a sentence with a noun, it typically indicates the topic, while in other positions, it usually has a contrastive meaning.
On the other hand, the particle "ga" is used as a subject marker. It specifically marks the noun or phrase that is the subject of the sentence. Unlike "wa," "ga" doesn't indicate the topic, but rather focuses on the subject itself. When asking pronominal questions, only "ga" is used after the interrogatives, while "wa" doesn't occur in those instances.
If you're looking for more information on particles in the Japanese language, I recommend checking out the website mentioned above (http://www.timwerx.net/language/particles.htm), as it provides in-depth explanations and examples on how particles are used.