9. Likes, needs, having

The other little sound: が

Some predicates do not act on a thing; they describe how you stand toward it. Liking sushi, understanding Japanese, wanting water, needing a bag. Japanese marks that thing with が instead of を.

私はすしが好きです = "I like sushi" (word for word: as for me, sushi is liked). The person stays the topic with は. The thing takes が. Then the predicate.

The cards that work this way: 好き (like), 嫌い (dislike), 上手 (good at), 欲しい (want a thing), 分かります (understand), できます (can), 要ります (need).

There is / I have: あります・います

あります says a thing exists. います says a person (or animal) exists. The place it exists takes に.

駅にコンビニがあります = there is a convenience store at the station. 東京に友達がいます = I have a friend in Tokyo. With a person as the topic it reads as "have": 私は時間があります, I have time.

Negatives follow the usual ます pattern: ありません, いません.

は or が? The beginner rule

は marks what the sentence is about. が marks the thing the predicate is really about. For now: the person is は, the thing is が.

If the thing itself is the topic, use は and skip the person: 袋は要りません, "(as for a bag) not needed", the standard konbini answer.