Lesson 5: The Uses of ある and いる

In this lesson, I will explain how to use the words ある and いる. I will first explain the difference between them than explain how to use them in a sentence. Also, at the end of this post, I will have some example sentences

While ある and いる have the same meaning, their uses do not overlap. ある is used with inanimate objects, like chairs, plants, and books, and いる is used with animate objects, such as people and animals.

When ある and いる are being used to mean "to exist" in a sentence, you use the particle に to mark the location where the object exists. When they are being used to mean "to have" in a sentence, the possessor is marked with は (the topic marker), and the object that is being possessed is marked with が.

That's all I have to explain about ある and いる, so I will now give you some example sentences, so you can see them in action. The new vocabulary will be listed in my normal way.

Nouns:
猫　ねこ A cat
剣　けん A sword
戦士　せんし　A warrior
魔法使い　まほうつかい A mage
子供　こども A child
軍隊　ぐんたい A army

I will first give some example sentences for the "to exist" meaning of ある and いる.

猫が家にいる。
ねこがいえにいる。
There is a cat in the house.

剣が洞窟にある。
けんがどうくつにある。
There is a sword in the cave.

戦士は城にいます。
せんしはしろにいます。
The warrior is in the castle.

I will now give some example for the "to have" meaning of ある and いる.

戦士は剣があります。
せんしはけんがあります。
The warrior has a sword.

魔法使いは子供がいます。
まほうつかいはこどもがいます。
The mage has a child.

軍隊は魔法使いがいます。
ぐんたいはまほうつかいがいます。
The army has a mage.

That's all for this lesson.

John