Is "anyone" 人はいます or 誰でも?


So I ran across this example sentence: 食べている人はいますか？ And the translation was
"Is anyone eating?" However I thought the sentence would be: 誰でもが食べていますか？ Is
this correct?

Also is Xはいます = is any X? Examples: 猫はいます = is any cat, 車はあります = is any car,
花はあります = is any flower.

EDIT: I've added this question based on the answers so far. Based on what
everyone has said, 花はあります = There is a flower, but I thought that 花があります is
the (only) construct for that sentence structure.




There is a lot going on in this. The biggest problem is the fact that the
structure of the example sentence you found is a bit more advanced than you
are used to. The example sentence is right. If you were to break it down

食べている = currently eating  
人は = "a person" [the は marks the "person" the focus of the question]  
います = exists  
か = ?

誰でも is the closest thing to "anyone" in Japanese, but it is not used here
because it is implied by the use of the word person. The example sentence
could also be translated "Is someone eating?" rather than "Is anyone eating?"

To use an easier sentence structure I think you would want "誰かが食べていますか？" which
is (again) closer to "is there someone eating?" than "is anyone eating？" but
using ”誰でも” here sounds very awkward.

An important point to mention is that when you use "誰でも" the でも replaces the
particle you would normally use, so if you were to use 誰でも you would remove
the が entirely.

Xはいます is confusing in the example you've included because of how advanced a
sentence structure the example you found is. (I don't think you would be
taught sentences like that until you reached Japanese 201.) X is not "any" it
is merely the topic of the sentence, as it would be in any structure where it
was followed by は.

In all of your example sentences you want to look at the います which in all
cases indicates existence. You would translate

います ＝ "there is"  
は ＝ "a"  
猫/車/花 ＝ "cat/car/flower"

EDITED: However, as Yadokari pointed out, since います can only be used for
living creatures you would usually use があります for the car or flower, leaving
猫はいます the only correct example. Depending on the sentence all 3 would more
commonly be written with が than は, but that gets into an entirely different
question.

I am sorry this got so long but I hope it can help you a bit!




There is a lot going on in this. The biggest problem is the fact that the
structure of the example sentence you found is a bit more advanced than you
are used to. The example sentence is right. If you were to break it down

食べている = currently eating  
人は = "a person" [the は marks the "person" the focus of the question]  
います = exists  
か = ?

誰でも is the closest thing to "anyone" in Japanese, but it is not used here
because it is implied by the use of the word person. The example sentence
could also be translated "Is someone eating?" rather than "Is anyone eating?"

To use an easier sentence structure I think you would want "誰かが食べていますか？" which
is (again) closer to "is there someone eating?" than "is anyone eating？" but
using ”誰でも” here sounds very awkward.

An important point to mention is that when you use "誰でも" the でも replaces the
particle you would normally use, so if you were to use 誰でも you would remove
the が entirely.

Xはいます is confusing in the example you've included because of how advanced a
sentence structure the example you found is. (I don't think you would be
taught sentences like that until you reached Japanese 201.) X is not "any" it
is merely the topic of the sentence, as it would be in any structure where it
was followed by は.

In all of your example sentences you want to look at the います which in all
cases indicates existence. You would translate

います ＝ "there is"  
は ＝ "a"  
猫/車/花 ＝ "cat/car/flower"

EDITED: However, as Yadokari pointed out, since います can only be used for
living creatures you would usually use があります for the car or flower, leaving
猫はいます the only correct example. Depending on the sentence all 3 would more
commonly be written with が than は, but that gets into an entirely different
question.

I am sorry this got so long but I hope it can help you a bit!

