がいる - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

to be・there is

Structure

  • Noun + が・いる

[living things・animate objects]

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#2

Hi Bruce, Maybe you know why there is an example: “パトカーがいる。” がいる (JLPT N5) | Bunpro

Police car is not an animated/living thing, is it?

Thank you for your opinion.

Best regards

Hormon

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#3

Hey @Hormon !

Not Bruce, but the reason for this is because although a police vehicle is not animate, it is driven by a police officer.

When がいる is used when talking about a police car, it implies that it is on duty with on duty police officers nearby. When がある is used, it will not carry this nuance and will be used to simply state that there is a police car.

Since it is a ‘working’ vehicle, when talking about a police car, がいる is used more frequently when pointing out to someone that there is a police car on the road.

I hope this answers your question!

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