Decide whether a simple existence sentence needs あります or います, then practise the negative and past forms without changing the location particle.
Look at what exists
For the ordinary literal examples in this exercise, use います for people and animals, and あります for things such as bags, chairs, and keys. A tree is living in a biological sense but normally uses あります. “Alive” on its own is therefore an unreliable English shortcut.
The pattern is place に entity が あります／います. When the entity is already the topic, entity は place に あります／います is also useful. Changing は and が does not turn an object into an animate being.
Keep existence separate from possession and ongoing actions
時間があります can mean that you have time. 食べています uses いる as part of an ongoing-action construction and does not mean a person is located somewhere. Those meanings need their own contexts; the blanks below use straightforward existence sentences.
Examples to read before you practise
Japanese | Reading / English |
|---|---|
庭に木があります。 | There is a tree in the garden. |
庭に猫がいます。 | There is a cat in the garden. |
机の上に鍵がありません。 | There is no key on the desk. |
Try six questions
Try these self-check questions from memory, then compare your answers with the explanations. For automatic checking and saved progress, open the related practice after this article.
教室に先生が（ ）。 Use polite non-past affirmative.
机の上に本が（ ）。 Use polite non-past affirmative.
庭に木が（ ）。 Use polite non-past affirmative.
Change います to polite non-past negative.
Change あります to polite past affirmative.
猫は部屋（ ）います。 Supply the place particle.
Answer key and explanations
います — 先生 is a person.
あります — 本 is an object.
あります — Trees normally use あります in existence sentences.
いません — います becomes いません.
ありました — The polite past is ありました.
に — に marks the location of existence.
Keep learning
Related lessons
Try what you have just read
Recognise the pattern, write an answer from memory, then use it in a short reading. Your existing progress carries over.
Open the three-step lessonSources
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