usage of 『は』and『が』with adjectives { na-adj and i-adj }


i really had this question in my mind and it caused me a lot of pain. My
question is : what is the difference between using ( wa ) and ( ga ) with
adjectives ? i got confusion because i studied that japanese doesn't have real
adjectives , instead it has adjectival verbs ( i-adj ) and adjectival nouns (
na-adj ) and both of them are verbs that modify nouns as it is . and it was
mixed up with what i have studied about ( wa ) and ( ga ) , that in the
adjective-predicate sentences we should use wa usually . can any one here
solve my confusion please . thank you in advance . signature : passionate of
japanese




In short, は is used to describe **known/general information** , whereas が is
used to report **newly perceived temporary event**. This rule applies
regardless of the type of the predicate (i-adjectives / na-adjectives /
verbs).

  * ポストは赤い。 A mailbox is red. [general/known information]
  * 私の車は赤い。 My car is red. [general/known information]
  * 信号が赤い。 The traffic light is (currently) red. [newly perceived information]
  * 顔が赤いよ。 (I noticed) Your face is being red. [newly perceived information]
  * 財布はない。／財布はありません。 I don't have a wallet. [known information]
  * 財布がない。／財布がありません。 (I noticed) My wallet is missing! [newly perceived information]

This usage of が to report new information is called "neutral-description ga",
中立描写文, 現象文, 中立叙述文, etc.

See:

  * [Can someone explain me the use of は and が in this sentence?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/43213/5010)

> When you describe or report information which is newly discovered by
> perception that doesn't include assumption or judgement, Japanese grammar
> requires you to express it as a sentence whose elements are not topicalized,
> in short, without adding particles like は.

  * [Why does 「電話は切れた」 sound more adversarial than 「電話が切れた」?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/38639/5010)
  * [What's the difference between wa (は) and ga (が)?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/22/5010)

> Any が can be an exhaustive-listing が, but neutral description only works
> with action verbs, existential verbs, and adjectives/nominal adjectives that
> represent state change. "Sentences of neutral description present an
> objectively observable action, existence, or temporary state as a new
> event."

