「が」(2) Something has a quality

「が」(2) Something has a quality

Express the quality something possesses

Besides marking the subject, expressing a strong exclusionary meaning, and pairing with question words like 誰(だれ) who, が​ has other uses as well.

Another usage that you will encounter relatively frequently is its ability to indicate that something possesses a certain quality. This usage was already mentioned in the first lesson on が​, but let's take a closer look.

The standard structure here is quite simple: A​が​B​, where A represents an object and B, an adjective that describes A.

In these sentences, our objects are the ones doing an "action," that is, they are being expensive or being delicious.

The following example further illustrates how は​ and が​ differ in their usage:

The topic, marked by は​, is a shop, and the additional information we receive is that the boxed lunch has the quality of being delicious.

Special Note

In the last example, you could also use the term restaurant instead of shop, as the word 店(みせ) is a rather broad term. The key takeaway here is that you shouldn't internalize a single translation for a word, even if seemingly simple and obvious. For example, in a more formal context, establishment may be more warranted. The translation often depends on more than just the literal meaning.