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Japanese location and existence practice: ni, de, arimasu and imasu

Choose the place marker from the verb, and the existence verb from what is there. Then practise the negative and question forms.

For existence, に marks the place: いえにねこがいます (there is a cat at home). For an action, で marks the place: いえでたべます (I eat at home).

Read the ni vs de explanation · Review arimasu vs imasu

Choose the missing form

Choose a mode and a group. Each round has up to ten questions. Wrong answers go into a retry round.

Try these questions, then open the answers. The interactive version needs JavaScript.

  1. I eat at home: いえ __ たべます。
    Answer and explanation

    で — で marks where the eating happens.

  2. I am at home: いえ __ います。
    Answer and explanation

    に — に marks the location with います.

  3. I go to school: がっこう __ いきます。
    Answer and explanation

    に — に marks the destination of going.

  4. I study at school: がっこう __ べんきょうします。
    Answer and explanation

    で — で marks where studying happens.

  5. There is a cat: ねこが __。
    Answer and explanation

    います — Use います for a living animal such as a cat.

  6. There is an umbrella: かさが __。
    Answer and explanation

    あります — Use あります for an object such as an umbrella.

  7. There is a flower: はなが __。
    Answer and explanation

    あります — Plants normally use あります in this beginner existence pattern.

  8. There is a person: ひとが __。
    Answer and explanation

    います — Use います for a person.

  9. There is no cat: ねこが __。
    Answer and explanation

    いません — The polite negative of います is いません.

  10. There is no water: みずが __。
    Answer and explanation

    ありません — The polite negative of あります is ありません.

Why these choices work

People and ordinary living animals use います; objects and plants normally use あります. Their polite negatives are いません and ありません. Add か at the end to ask a question.

These exercises cover beginner location and existence patterns. に and で have other uses, so avoid choosing from the English word “at” alone.

Written by Remlori using examples and media from our beginner course. Alphabet reference: The Japan Foundation, Irodori Starter. Romanization approximates the sound; use the recordings when practising.

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