What is とは、のが、のは、には、 へは　and では？


Someone told me that these aren't actually particles, but they're separate
particles put together. I vaguely have an understanding of には and では but it's
とは、のが、 and のは that confuse me a lot.

I heard that とは means with?

Why are these particles combined together? What are their meanings and
purposes?

Is ことが the same thing as のが?




I would recommend getting a book about particles... even something like [A
Dictionary of Japanese
Particles](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/4770023529). _Which is
only about $15 (USD) at present._

Something to consider before getting into the particle combinations is the
idea of は and が. There are a lot of different rules (sometimes seemingly-
contradictory rules,) for は and が. But for the sake of simplicity, just
remember that **は** is **often the first, main subject of** a sentence. **が**
is **kind of the second main subject (the "newer subject" or "focus point",)**
of a sentence.

_Now let's get into the combinations from the question._

## とは

_According to[A Dictionary of Japanese
Particles](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/4770023529):_

  * とは is a combination of particles と and は
  * can mean: **"the thing/concept/idea called"** (i.e. ボタン **とは** なんですか。）
  * can mean: **with** (i.e. わたし、Aさん **とは** スポーツをしたり、勉強したりします。）
  * can mean: **"surprise/shock about something"** (i.e. あの人がそんなバカなことを言った **とは** ・・・）

In the first example, とは actually seems related to when って is used after
dialog, like this: 「ボタン」って、何ですか。 _("Button" <\- pointing to subject, what
is?)_ It's a sort of marker for the previous word... something that makes a
sort of subject out of the phrase before とは.

## のは

  * When のは is used, it often refers to a subject (placed in front of のは,) for example: 
    * 勉強をする **のは** 難しいことです。(i.e. Studying is hard. -or- The **thing** of studying is hard.) Using のは like this effectively turns a subject (a noun or a concept,) into a subject of the sentence.

## のが

  * のが is similar to のは. But the difference comes down to the difference between は and が (explained earlier.)
  * So if we go back to the example used for のは and replace のは with のが: 
    * 私は勉強をする **のが** 難しいことです。(i.e. For me, studying is hard. -or- For me, the **thing** of studying is hard.) Here, the main subject of the sentence is "私 myself". But when のが is used like this, のが (like のは）still effectively turns a subject (a noun or a concept,) into a subject of the sentence, but here, のが is pointing to a "new subject" of the sentence _(the thing of studying.)_

## ことが

  * With the example given with のが, ことが is essentially the same thing. It creates a concept from a given noun, verb, or phrase.

