GRAMMAR DETAIL

いる

there is · to be

Indicates that a person or animal is at a particular place or belongs to a group.

Examples

教室に先生がいます。

The teacher is in the classroom.

公園には子どもがたくさんいます。

There are many children in the park.

庭に小さな鳥がいます。

There is a small bird in the garden.

Structure: Mark a place with に, the person or animal there with が, and use いる as the predicate. Its polite form is います.
Basic usage: It describes where a person or animal is, or the existence of a personal relationship.
- 庭に小さな鳥がいます。 introduces the presence of a small bird in the garden.

Relationships and existence
- 弟がいる can express the family relationship of having a younger brother. It need not mean that the brother is physically present at a place in view.
Negative and polite forms
- The negative is いない, and the polite negative is いません. Distinguish these from ない for the absence of a thing, according to the referent.
The auxiliary role in ている
- 教室にいる directly describes presence; in 勉強している, いる follows a verb's て form as part of a construction expressing progress or a state.