54693
I'm confused about「は」vs「が」 in subordinate clauses. Here are a few examples
from (very basic) grammar books:

>   1. 僕 **が** 電話したとき、ナツミ **は** もういなかった。When I called, Natsumi had already
> left.
>
>   2. 弟 **が** 日本に来たら、私 **は** 日光に連れて行きたい。When my brother comes to Japan, I
> want to take him to Nikkou.
>
>   3. 地震 **は** 私 **が** 結婚した年に起こった。The earthquake happened the year that I got
> married.
>
>   4. 東野さん **が** 薦めてくれた本 **は** 何でしたか。What was the book that Mr. Higashino
> recommended?
>
>   5. 武 **が** 昨夜見た映画 **は** 楽しかったですか。Did you (Takeshi) enjoy the movie that
> you saw last night?
>
>   6. 私 **が** それを見た場所 **は** そこにあります。The place where I saw it happen is over
> there.
>
>

I am aware that you can't use the same particle in a subordinate clause that
you used in the main clause, but how do you know which one should be は, and
which one が? Does it simply depend on which part of the sentence you want to
emphasize? Does it matter whether the subordinate clause is a noun, adjective
or adverb?

If the instances of は and が in the above examples were reversed (each は in
place of each が) would this be incorrect, or would it simply change the
nuance?
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2017-11-22T23:29:41.033
54689
2022-03-10T06:39:36.177
2021-12-27T05:35:55.390
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question
nuances particle-は particle-が は-and-が subordinate-clauses
「は」vs 「が」 in subordinate clauses
は serves as the topic marker of the _main_ clause. In subordinate clauses,
basically you cannot use は. You have to use が to mark a subject in subordinate
clauses. (There are exceptions, which I will mention later, but all your
examples are simple ones that can be explained without knowing the
exceptions.)

It appears to me that you are confused because you don't understand which part
of your examples actually belongs to a subordinate clause. So here are the
subordinate clauses in your example sentences:

  * 1: 僕 **が** 電話した is a relative clause that modifies the noun とき. (This construction is usually translated into English as "when ～" without using an English relative clause.)
  * 2: 弟 **が** 日本に来たら is a subordinate clause which is not a relative clause.
  * 3: 私 **が** 結婚した is a relative clause that modifies 年.
  * 4: 東野さん **が** 薦めてくれた is a relative clause that modifies 本.
  * 5: 武 **が** 昨夜見た is a relative clause that modifies 映画.
  * 6: 私 **が** それを見た is a relative clause that modifies 場所.

(A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that works like an
adjective. They "adjectivally" modifies the following noun. In your example,
all but Sentence 2 are using relative clauses. There is [a good answer about
relative clauses](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/14550/5010).)

As you can see, the basic rule is very simple: が is consistently used in
subordinate clauses regardless of the type.

If you are still confused, remember that a subordinate clause can appear
anywhere in a sentence to modify something. The word marked with は is the
topic of the main clause, at least in your examples. No emphasis/contrast is
concerned.

* * *

There are a few exceptions you will encounter sooner or later. You can forget
these for now if you feel these are too difficult.

  * In _relative_ clauses, の can be alternatively used instead of が to mark a subject in many cases. See: [How does the の work in 「日本人の知らない日本語」?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/12825/5010) Among your examples, の can be used instead of が in Sentences 1, 3, 4 and 5. (But not は!)
  * は can be used anyway in subordinate clauses if it's used as a contrast marker. See: [Is saying 「XはYは…」 acceptable?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/19461/5010)
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2017-11-23T01:54:02.433
54693
2022-03-10T06:39:36.177
2022-03-10T06:39:36.177
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answer