91394
At the beginning of sentences, I usually see words referencing to a placing
being followed by "de wa". For example,

> 日本では見れないという

I thought that when you started sentences with a place you always had to
follow it with "では", but I found this example,

> 日本 で、 家 の 中 で 靴 を 履いて は いけません。  
>  In Japan, wearing shoes inside the house is not allowed.  
>  [nihon de, ie no naka de kutu wo haite ha ikemasen.](https://elon.io/learn-
> japanese/lexicon/29215/nihon-de-ie-no-naka-de-kutu-wo-haite-ha-ikemasen.)

Now, if I take the English sentence and put it in an English-Japanese
translator, it gives me the sentence as I thought it would be,

>
> 日本では、家の中で靴を履くことは禁じられています。[translator](https://www.google.com/search?q=translator&source=hp&ei=5-OkYaBGos3k5Q-wyKC4DQ&iflsig=ALs-
> wAMAAAAAYaTx91y7u8An-
> kpLpylftblIAfo769jH&ved=0ahUKEwjg1Y605L30AhWiJrkGHTAkCNcQ4dUDCAc&uact=5&oq=translator&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCQgAELEDEAoQQzILCAAQgAQQsQMQgwEyDQgAEIAEELEDEIMBEAoyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIHCAAQgAQQCjIHCAAQgAQQCjIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgcIABCABBAKOgYIABAKEEM6BAgAEEM6CAgAEIAEELEDOhEILhCABBCxAxCDARDHARDRAzoHCAAQsQMQQzoHCAAQsQMQCjoLCC4QgAQQxwEQrwE6CwguEIAEELEDEIMBUABYnglglwpoAHAAeACAAb8BiAGPCpIBAzEuOJgBAKABAQ&sclient=gws-
> wiz)

Is the wa here irrelevant and it can be omitted and both sentences are
correct, or is it grammatically incorrect to say so and the translator isn't
working properly?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-29T14:42:01.907
91386
2021-11-30T15:01:21.117
2021-11-30T01:52:35.363
9878
9878
question
particles particle-は particle-で
When do I have to use "place + de" instead of "place + de wa" at the begining of a sentence?
The following sentence _does_ sound awkward.

> 日本 **で** 、家の中で靴を履いてはいけません。

However, this doesn’t mean a place always has to be marked with では at the
beginning of a sentence. In fact, the following sentence sounds totally
natural.

> 家の中 **で** 靴を履いてはいけません。

In these sentences, 家の中で modifies the verb phrase 靴を履いてはいけません to restrict the
place where the act of wearing shoes should not happen.

日本で in the first sentence, on the other hand, doesn’t restrictively work on a
verb phrase like that as the sentence is not saying you should not wear shoes
in Japan. Rather, it works on the whole sentence indicating a greater setting
within which the statement 家の中で靴を履いてはいけません is true. It sounds much more
natural if it is expressed as the topic of the whole sentence with は.

> 日本 **では** 、家の中で靴を履いてはいけません。

Let’s look at another example which sounds natural enough without は.

> 日本 **で** 、デパートで靴を買いました。

This sentence is understood as stating that the speaker bought shoes in Japan,
as well as that they bought them at a department store. 日本で modifies the verb
phrase 靴を買いました, along with more specific デパートで, and both are new information
to the listener.

Adding は changes this.

> 日本 **では** 、デパートで靴を買いました。

In this sentence, 日本で is turned into a common topic between the speaker and
the listener, and this prepares the listener to hear what the speaker did in
Japan, possibly in contrast to what they did in another country.

In English, putting an adverbial phrase like “ _in Japan_ ” at the beginning
of a sentence itself has a similar effect. So, the last two sentences may be
translated as the following.

> 日本 **で** 、デパートで靴を買いました。  
>  _I bought shoes at a department store in Japan._

> 日本 **では** 、デパートで靴を買いました。  
>  _In Japan, I bought shoes at a department store._
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-30T05:58:42.313
91394
2021-11-30T15:01:21.117
2021-11-30T15:01:21.117
43676
43676
91386
answer