猫がいます。/ 箱があります。We use いる for animate things like 猫, and we use ある for inanimate objects like 箱. Which one do we use when we include both animate and inanimate objects within a sentence? E.g. あの街に猫と箱があります\います。? It may be a dumb sample sentence.

5 comments

1. I’m inclined to think that you simply don’t write them parallel, like how *there are coffee and cats in that cafe* sounds weird. It’s weird right? Maybe not? Idk I’m not exactly qualified to determine whether an English sentence is weird…

   Of course, above is subject to change as soon as someone else (or myself) comes up with a better sentence that would prove otherwise.

   edit: forgot markdown

2. I don’t think you can really combine them unless you plan on personifying the coffee

   I would say: “そのカフェにコーヒーがあって、猫がいます”

3. このカフェではコーヒーが飲めるし、猫を触る/撫でることもできる。

   You say it in a way that conveys the meaning that makes the most sense, some things just don’t work as literal translations.

4. So, from most responses, I can get that you’re not supposed to combine them and use separate sentences. なるほど。返信してくれありがとう。

5. If I remember, I’ll ask my teacher at my language school tomorrow.