が marks the grammatical subject of a sentence. It often introduces new information or answers a question like “who?” or “what?” In beginner Japanese, が is used when the subject is the main focus. Key points: • が marks the subject (the doer or the thing that is) • Use が when the subject is new or emphasized • Common with questions and answers • It can appear with existence verbs いる/ある If someone asks “だれが来ますか” (Who is coming?), the answer uses が: “田中さんが来ます.” This highlights Tanaka as the new information. が and は are different. は sets the topic, while が points to the subject as the focus. In many simple sentences either can appear, but the meaning changes slightly. When you want to identify or emphasize the subject, choose が. You will also see が with feelings or abilities, like “日本語が好きです” (I like Japanese) or “泳ぐことができます” (I can swim). For now, remember that が is your go-to particle for “who/what is it?” questions and for introducing something new.