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Japanese sentences are contextual. Usually, the subject of the sentence is omitted entirely when it is implicitly clear what the subject is.
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To make the subject explicit, we use は (wa; topic particle) in the following form
statement: <subject> は <object>
- We use subject complements using the です (desu; copula) in the following form
statement: (implied subject) <complement> です
statement: (explicit subject) <subject> は <complement> です
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By default, plurality is not explicitly stated in the words (i.e., using “X”-s as in English). Plurality is implied.
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Questions are done as follows. We affix the particle か (ka; question).
<statement> か
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To ask “what”, we either use なに (nani) or なん (nan)
- Use なに before a particle (or before specific combinations)
- Use なん before です or before a word indicating counts.
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Nouns can be modified using the の (no; modifier particle).
<noun> の <noun>- X の Y means that X modifies Y.
- In this sense, X acts as a noun adjunct.