Learning your first particles

Many things make Japanese a unique language. One of those things is that it has particles. Particles are elements that show us the function of the words in a sentence. It may sound strange at first glance (I'm assuming you didn't know about it), but it will become easier the more you understand it, I swear.

の

The first particle I will teach you is the one that I think is the easiest. It is the particle の (it reads "no"). This particle has the function of show that something belongs to someone. It represents possession. For example:

私のえんぴつ - where:

私 (わたし) - I

の - possession particle

えんぴつ - pencil

So, it means that the pencil belongs to me. Easy, isn't it?

と

Let's try another particle. It will be と (it reads "to"). It has the same function of "and" in English. So:

本とノート - where:

本 - book
と - addition particle
ノート - notebook

It obviously means "book and notebook".

や

Let's try another one? It will be や, and it has the same function of the previous one, except that, when you use this particle, you pass the meaning that there are other items besides the ones you cited. So it will work this way:

車やトラック - where:

車 (くるま) - car
や - addition particle
トラック - truck

So it gives the impression that there are other things besides the car and the truck.

は

The fourth particle I will teach you is は (this letter reads "ha", but, when used as a particle, it reads "wa". It indicates the topic of the sentence, the subject. So:

これはえんぴつです - where:

これ - this
は - topic particle, indicating that we are talking about "this"
えんぴつ - pencil
です - is a pseudo-verb that means "to be", used in polite sentences

Literally, it could be translated as "this about, pencil is". Yes, that way, backwards. That's how some sentences work in Japanese. You should be aware of that.

が

The next particle I will show you will cause some confusion with the previous one. The solution of your questions will be answered only by practice. You will have to learn Japanese to figure out those problems. The particle will be が. It is the identifier particle. Let's see:

山田さんが行きます - where:

山田 (やまだ) - Yamada

さん - sir

が - indicates that "sir Yamada" is the subject

行 (い) きます - goes

Well, it means that a certain mr. Yamada goes to somewhere. If you used the は particle instead of が on this example, you would be saying that a specific mr. Yamada would be going to somewhere. See the difference? No? Relax, it's normal. Every single Japanese student takes a considerable amount of time until properly learn the difference between those particles and when to use each other. As I said, the answers will come with practice.

も

The next particle will be も. It can be used in the situations you should use "also". For example:

田中さんの車も赤いです - where:

田中 - Tanaka
さん - Sir
の - possession particle
車 (くるま) - car
も - particle that gives the idea of "also" or "too"
赤 (あか) い - red
です - already explained

It translates: "Mr. Tanaka's car is also red".

を

It indicates the verb's object. Remember that this character is read "o", and not "wo".

猫が肉を食べます - where:

猫 (ねこ) - cat
が - particle that indicates the subject
肉 (にく) - meat
を - explained below
食 (た) べます - eats

So, who eats, eats something. Eats what? The particle を indicates it.

で

It indicates with what the action is made or where the action occurs.

はしですしを食べます - where:

はし - hashi
で - explained below
すし - sushi
を - indicates the verb's object
食 (た) べます - "to eat", in the ます form

So, in this sentence, you give the idea of "Eat sushi with hashi".

へ

When the verb is related with movement, it indicates the direction. For example:

社長へメールを送ります - where:

社長 (しゃちょう) - company's president
へ - explained below
メール - e-mail
を - indicates the verb's object
送 (おく) ります - send (in the ます form)

It means: "send a e-mail to the company's president".

に

Well, it's such a complicated particle. Some claim that it indicates the indirect object of the verb, but it is a limited view of it. In fact, there are so many other uses for this particle besides showing the indirect object. So, it's better for you to learn by examples.

コンビニに入ります - where:

コンビニ - convenience store
に - explained below
入 (はい) ります - to enter (in the ます form)

It means "to enter in the convenience store". So, simply learn that, for the verb 入ります, に indicates where something enters. So, wherever you see this particle, think "what's its function in this sentence?". Learning this way is so much easier than suppose it's used to indicate the indirect object of the verb.

Let's see another example:

バスに乗ります - where:

バス - bus
に - explained below
乗 (の) ります - "to take", in the ます form

So, we can learn that you can use this particle when you want to say "to take" a "transport".

Another example:

ノートに書きます - where:

ノート - notebook
に - explained below
書 (か) きます - to write

So, in this case, you can use the particle に.

Another tip: you can use this particle instead of へ.

Also, with the verbs あります and います, you can also use the particle に. For example:

犬が庭にいます - where:

犬 (いぬ) - cachorro
が - subject particle
庭 () - garden
に - explained below
います - is

So, it reads "the dog is in the garden".

から and まで

から indicates the start poing and まで indicates the arrival point. For example:

らちからコンビニまでは５分です