Existence Verbs いる/ある in Japanese

In Brief

Japanese uses いる for the existence or presence of people and animals, and ある for objects, plants, events, and abstract things. A basic sentence follows [place] に [person or thing] が いる／ある: 公園に子供がいます means “There are children in the park.” In polite conversation, use います and あります.

Overview

Japanese does not have a single direct equivalent of English “there is” or “there are.” Instead, it normally chooses between two existence verbs: いる for animate beings (people and animals) and ある for inanimate things. These verbs can tell you that something exists, say where it is, or show that someone has something.

This is a core A1 pattern. It lets you say that a cat is in the house, a shop is near the station, you have a younger sister, or there is no time. It also puts the basic particles に, が, and は to practical use. A particle is a short element placed after a word to show that word’s role in the sentence.

English-speaking learners need to make two adjustments. First, the English verb changes according to time and number—“there is,” “there are,” “there was”—but Japanese does not change いる or ある for singular versus plural. Second, English “have” often becomes an existence pattern in Japanese: rather than describing ownership as an action, Japanese can present the person, time, or money as existing in relation to someone.

How It Works

Choosing between いる and ある

The beginner rule is simple: use いる for people and animals; use ある for everything else.

Plain form	Polite form	Main use	Example
いる	います	People and animals	犬がいます。 — There is a dog.
ある	あります	Objects, plants, places, events, and abstract things	予定があります。 — There are plans.

Although plants are biologically alive, Japanese normally treats them as non-animate for this choice: 庭に木があります (“There is a tree in the garden”). Organizations and locations also take ある: 東京に会社があります (“There is a company in Tokyo”).

The verb does not agree with number. 猫がいます can mean “There is a cat” or “There are cats”; add a number or another expression when the distinction matters:

• 猫が一匹います。 — There is one cat.
• 猫が三匹います。 — There are three cats.
• 猫がたくさんいます。 — There are many cats.

Present and past forms

The plain forms are common in casual speech and in clauses inside longer sentences. The polite ます forms are the safest choice in ordinary conversation with people you do not know well.

Time and polarity	いる, plain	いる, polite	ある, plain	ある, polite
Present affirmative	いる	います	ある	あります
Present negative	いない	いません	ない	ありません
Past affirmative	いた	いました	あった	ありました
Past negative	いなかった	いませんでした	なかった	ありませんでした

The plain negative of ある is ない, not あらない. This irregular form is important because ない appears constantly in everyday Japanese.

Japanese “present” forms also cover future situations when the time is clear: 明日、会議があります means “There is a meeting tomorrow” or “We have a meeting tomorrow.”

Saying that something exists somewhere

Use this pattern when introducing a person or thing at a location:

[place] に [person or thing] が います／あります

• 教室に先生がいます。 — There is a teacher in the classroom.
• テーブルの上に鍵があります。 — There is a key on the table.

Here に marks the location where something exists. が marks the person or thing whose presence is being introduced. In plain terms, が answers “what or who is there?”

Location expressions often combine a reference object with の and a position word:

Japanese	Meaning
箱の中に	in the box
机の上に	on the desk
駅の前に	in front of the station
学校の近くに	near the school
銀行の隣に	next to the bank
家の後ろに	behind the house

Japanese word order is flexible when particles make the roles clear, but the location-first pattern is neutral and easy for beginners.

Saying where a known person or thing is

When the person or thing is already the topic—the thing currently being discussed—use は:

[person or thing] は [place] に います／あります

• 山田さんは受付にいます。 — Yamada is at reception.
• トイレは二階にあります。 — The restroom is on the second floor.
• 私の本はどこにありますか。 — Where is my book?

The difference is useful:

• 部屋に猫がいます。 introduces a cat: “There is a cat in the room.”
• 猫は部屋にいます。 says where the cat is: “The cat is in the room.”

The second sentence assumes that the cat is already relevant or identifiable. English articles such as “a” and “the” often carry part of this distinction; Japanese instead relies heavily on context and particles.

Asking what or who is there

Use 誰 (“who”) with いる and 何 (“what”) with ある:

• 部屋に誰がいますか。 — Who is in the room?
• 箱の中に何がありますか。 — What is in the box?
• 近くにコンビニがありますか。 — Is there a convenience store nearby?

In relaxed speech, the final particle か may be replaced by rising intonation, but questions with か are clear and polite.

Expressing possession and personal circumstances

Japanese often expresses “have” by saying that something exists for or in relation to a person. The possessor can be the topic with は, or can be marked more explicitly by には:

[person] は／には [person or thing] が います／あります

• 私には兄がいます。 — I have an older brother.
• 田中さんは車があります。 — Tanaka has a car.
• 今日は時間がありません。 — I do not have time today.
• 質問があります。 — I have a question.

には combines に with the topic marker は and makes the relation to the possessor clearer. In many everyday sentences the possessor is obvious and omitted: 子供が二人います can mean “I have two children” when speaking about one’s family.

This construction is broader than legal ownership. You can “have” family members, time, an appointment, a question, a problem, experience, or an opportunity with いる or ある. For concrete possession, Japanese also has 持っている (“to have/hold”), but it is not automatically required every time English uses “have.”

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
猫がいます。	There is a cat.	An animal takes いる.
本があります。	There is a book.	An object takes ある.
公園に子供がいます。	There are children in the park.	に marks the location.
庭に大きな木があります。	There is a large tree in the garden.	Plants normally take ある.
駅の前にタクシーがいます。	There is a taxi driver/taxi waiting in front of the station.	With タクシー, いる can imply the driver or occupied vehicle; use with context.
駅の前にタクシーがあります。	There is a taxi in front of the station.	The vehicle is treated as an object.
先生は職員室にいます。	The teacher is in the staff room.	は marks a known person as the topic.
財布はバッグの中にあります。	The wallet is in the bag.	Says where a known object is.
お金がありますか。	Do you have any money?	Context supplies the possessor.
私には妹がいます。	I have a younger sister.	Possession expressed with existence.
今日は時間がありません。	I do not have time today.	Polite negative of ある.
冷蔵庫に牛乳はありません。	There is no milk in the refrigerator.	は can add contrast: no milk, though something else may be there.
昨日、駅に人がたくさんいました。	There were many people at the station yesterday.	Polite past of いる.
来週、試験があります。	There is an exam next week.	An event takes ある.
この町には病院が二つあります。	There are two hospitals in this town.	には highlights the location; no plural verb form is needed.

Common Mistakes

Using ある for a person or animal

• Wrong: 公園に犬があります。
• Right: 公園に犬がいます。
• Why: Dogs are animate, so their presence is expressed with いる. Use ある for an object such as a bench: 公園にベンチがあります.

Using いる for a plant

• Wrong: 庭に花がいます。
• Right: 庭に花があります。
• Why: Japanese normally groups plants with inanimate things for this grammatical distinction, even though plants are alive.

Marking the location with で

• Wrong: 図書館で本があります。
• Right: 図書館に本があります。
• Why: に marks the place where someone or something simply exists. で marks where an action happens: 図書館で本を読みます (“I read a book at the library”).

Using あらない as the negative

• Wrong: 時間があらない。
• Right: 時間がない。
• Why: The plain negative of ある is irregular: ない. The polite negative is ありません.

Copying English “have” word for word

• Unnatural for the intended meaning: 私は兄を持っています。
• Natural: 私には兄がいます。
• Why: Family relationships are normally expressed through existence, not by treating the relative as an owned object. 持っている is useful for things one possesses, carries, or has as an attribute, but not for relatives.

Adding a plural verb form

• Wrong idea: searching for a special plural form of います or あります
• Right: 学生が一人います。／学生が五人います。
• Why: Japanese verbs do not change for singular and plural. A number, counter, or context supplies that information.

Usage Notes

Polite and casual speech

Use います／あります and their polite forms in neutral, courteous conversation. With friends and family, plain いる／ある and いない／ない are common:

• 田中さん、いる？ — Is Tanaka here?
• 牛乳、ある？ — Is there any milk?/Do we have milk?
• ううん、ない。 — No, there isn’t any./No, we don’t.

Japanese often omits words that are obvious from context. These short questions are natural; repeatedly stating “you,” “we,” or the location can sound unnecessarily heavy.

が and は change the information focus

Use が to present what exists. Use は when the person or thing is already under discussion or when making a contrast:

• 冷蔵庫に卵があります。 — There are eggs in the refrigerator.
• 卵は冷蔵庫にあります。 — The eggs are in the refrigerator.
• 卵はありません。 — There are no eggs (though there may be something else).

This is not a rigid “が always means a/an, は always means the” rule. Context matters, but that comparison is a useful first guide for English speakers.

ある can refer to scheduled events

Appointments, classes, festivals, meetings, and problems take ある:

• 午後、会議があります。 — There is a meeting in the afternoon.
• 駅でお祭りがあります。 — There is a festival at the station.

Notice で in the second example. The festival is an event happening at a place, so で is natural. For the simple location of an object or person, use に. This event use is an important exception to an overly mechanical “existence always takes に” shortcut.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following points at A1, but they explain forms you will encounter later.

Animacy can reflect how the speaker views something

The いる/ある choice is grammatical, but it can also show perspective. A robot, doll, vehicle, or fictional being may take いる when treated as active, person-like, or inhabited, and ある when treated simply as an object. The taxi pair in the examples illustrates this: タクシーがいる often suggests an available taxi with a driver, while タクシーがある focuses on the vehicle’s presence. Context and conventional usage matter more than a scientific definition of life.

Dead animals and bodies are generally treated as inanimate, so ある may occur when the speaker focuses on remains rather than a living creature. This is a later nuance; for ordinary people and living animals, いる is the dependable rule.

Existence verbs can modify nouns

A clause can come directly before a noun and describe it:

• 机の上にある本 — the book that is on the desk
• 日本にいる友達 — a friend who is in Japan
• 時間がない人 — a person who has no time

Japanese does not insert a separate word equivalent to English “that,” “who,” or “which” here. The existence clause simply precedes the noun.

いる also appears as an aspect helper

In 本を読んでいる (“is reading a book” or, depending on context, “reads/is in the state resulting from reading”), いる follows a verb in its て-form. This is the 〜ている construction, which expresses an ongoing action, a continuing state, or a habitual situation. It developed from the existence verb but should be learned as a separate grammar pattern. Do not choose ある instead just because the main action involves an object.

Respectful alternatives

When speaking respectfully about another person’s presence, Japanese may use いらっしゃる instead of いる:

• 先生はいらっしゃいますか。 — Is the teacher here?

This belongs to honorific language and is not necessary for the basic contrast. The ordinary polite 先生はいますか is grammatically correct, but いらっしゃいますか is more respectful in service and formal settings.

Fixed and idiomatic uses of ある

You will also meet ある with meanings that go beyond physical location:

• ある日 — one day/a certain day
• よくある質問 — a frequently asked question
• 可能性がある — there is a possibility/to be possible
• 意味がある — to have meaning/to be meaningful

These follow the broad idea that a situation, quality, or possibility “exists,” even when English chooses another verb or adjective.

Practice Tips

1. Sort nouns before making sentences. Choose ten familiar words—such as 先生, 犬, 花, 本, and 会議—and decide whether each takes いる or ある. Then place each one somewhere with [place] に [noun] が....
2. Practice information flow in pairs. First introduce something with が: 机の上に鍵があります. Then say where the known thing is with は: 鍵は机の上にあります. This makes the が/は contrast easier to feel.
3. Describe real surroundings and possessions. Say three things that are in your room, two people or animals in your life, and one thing you do not have. Include polite and plain negatives so ありません／ない and いません／いない become automatic.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Particles は/が/を/に — provides the core location, topic, and subject markers used with いる and ある.