Duolingo asked me to translate “There are seven chairs.” I went with 椅子は七ついます, but the correct answer was 椅子が七つあります. Can someone please tell me why? Is it always が when using noun + particle + number?
(also I wanted to post a screenshot but apparently it’s not authorised in this sub.)
3 comments
As a beginner, you can just follow the rule that いる＆ある usually always take が
Beware
いる Is only for living things
ある for non living things
you mixed that up
To add to the other comment, this is one grammar rule that seems simple but is not…
は puts the focus on what follows, example:
Q: Are there students here?
A: はい、学生はいます <– Yes, *there are* students (but maybe not teachers etc.)
が puts the focus on what it attaches to, example:
Q: Are there teachers here?
A: いいえ、学生がいます <– No, there are *students* (but not teachers)
Really not an ideal example but its what I could come up with on the spot..
without any context if you use は it would imply chairs in general が is more specific
ex:
子供はうるさい : kids are noisy (general statement)
子供がうるさい : the kids are noisy (statement where someone talks about some kid(s) in particular that is being noisy)
(this is one of the differences between が and は, not a full list.)