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Sentence explanations

1. これは何ですか？

   What is this?

   これ

   this

   何

   what

   ですか

   is it?

   More detail

   これ means “this” and is a demonstrative pronoun for something relatively near the speaker. Its specific referent is not identified here. The related form それ refers to something relatively near the listener or already under discussion, as shown in the following context. Example: これは本です。 — “This is a book.” 何 means “what” and asks for the identity or nature of something. In Japanese, this form can be pronounced なに or なん in different environments; here it appears in the written question これは何ですか？. Example: 何ですか？ — “What is it?” ですか combines the polite copula です with the question particle か. です presents an identification or description politely, while か turns the statement into a question. The polite past form is でした, and a polite negative form is ではありません. Example: これは本ですか？ — “Is this a book?” The topic marker は follows これ, giving the pattern これは何ですか？: “As for this, what is it?” In natural English, this is “What is this?” The sentence asks for the identity of the thing referred to by これ; it does not specify that thing further.

2. それは何ですか？

   What is that?

   それは

   as for that

   何

   what

   ですか

   is it?

   More detail

   それは places “that” as the topic: それ is a demonstrative pronoun, and は marks the topic. Here the fixed translation supports the meaning “that”; it does not identify a more specific object. Compare the useful contrast これ “this” and それ “that.” Example: これは本です。 — “This is a book.” 何 means “what” and asks for the identity or category of something. In Japanese, it can stand on its own as an interrogative word. Example: これは何ですか？ — “What is this?” ですか turns a statement into a polite question. です is the polite copula, and the final particle か marks a question. です does not change for grammatical number. A useful statement/question contrast is それは本です。 — “That is a book,” versus それは何ですか？ — “What is that?” Together, それは sets “that” as the topic, 何 asks what it is, and ですか makes the question polite: “What is that?”

3. あの人は誰ですか？

   Who is that?

   あの

   that (distal demonstrative)

   人

   person

   誰

   who

   ですか

   is ...? (polite question ending)

   More detail

   あの points to a person or thing away from both the speaker and the listener, or to someone already identifiable in the situation. Before a noun, it works as an attributive demonstrative: あの人 means “that person.” Compare この人 “this person” and その人 “that person near you / previously mentioned.” 人 means “person” and is also used as a counter in other contexts, but here it is the noun being identified. The compound あの人 is neutral about the person’s gender. 誰 is the question word “who,” used to ask about a person’s identity. A related form is the more polite どなた, also meaning “who.” For example, あの人は誰ですか？ asks about the identity of the person indicated by あの人. ですか makes the clause a polite question. です is the polite copular form, roughly “is,” and the final か marks the sentence as a question. The topic marker は follows あの人: it sets that person as the topic, while 誰 supplies the unknown identity. Japanese can therefore place the topic before the question word: あの人は誰ですか？ Together, あの人 identifies the person being discussed, は marks that person as the topic, 誰 asks for the identity, and ですか forms the polite question. The whole utterance means “Who is that?” in the intended context, with the demonstrative referring to a person rather than naming a specific individual.

4. どれがあなたのですか？

   Which one is yours?

   どれ

   which one

   あなたの

   yours

   ですか

   question form

   More detail

   どれ means “which one” and is an independent question word used when choosing among things. It can stand alone: どれですか？ means “Which one is it?” With a noun, use どの before it instead: どの本ですか？ means “Which book is it?” あなたの means “yours” here. あなた is “you,” and の marks possession; after a noun or pronoun, の can also stand on its own to mean “the one belonging to …”: 私の means “mine,” and あなたの means “yours.” The form あなたの does not itself indicate whether the owned thing is singular or plural. ですか forms a polite question. です is the polite copular form, and adding か at the end marks the sentence as a question. For example, これはあなたのですか？ means “Is this yours?” Together, どれ asks which item, あなたの identifies it as belonging to the listener, and ですか makes the question polite: “Which one is yours?”

5. これは私のです。

   This one is mine.

   これは

   this one

   私の

   mine

   です

   is

   More detail

   これは: これ means “this” or “this one” and is used here as a demonstrative pronoun for the item being identified. は marks it as the topic, so これは sets up “as for this one…” The related forms それ and あれ refer to “that one” near the listener and “that one over there,” respectively; the choice depends on relative location and context. 私の: 私 means “I” or “me,” and の marks possession here. Because the possessed noun is understood from the context, 私の means “mine” rather than “my” followed by an expressed noun. For example, これは私の本です。 means “This is my book.” In これは私のです。, the noun is omitted because the item is already understood. です: This is the polite copular form used to identify or describe something, broadly corresponding to “is” in this sentence. It follows a noun-like expression such as 私の. For example, それはあなたのです。 means “That one is yours.” Together, これは identifies the topic as “this one,” 私の identifies ownership as “mine,” and です forms a polite identification. The complete meaning is “This one is mine.”

6. それはあなたのです。

   That one is yours.

   それは

   that one (topic)

   あなたの

   your / yours

   です

   is

   More detail

   それは means “as for that one.” それ is a demonstrative pronoun for something identified as “that” in the situation; は marks it as the topic. Japanese demonstratives distinguish location or discourse distance, so それ is not simply an inflected form of これ (“this”). In the supplied exchange, it contrasts with the earlier これ (“this one”). あなたの means “yours” here. あなた is the pronoun “you,” and の marks possession or association. With the possessed item omitted because it is understood, あなたの can stand alone as “your one” or, naturally in English, “yours.” In a noun phrase, the same pattern is reusable: あなたの本 means “your book.” The の in this phrase is not part of the pronoun あなた; it supplies the possessive relationship. です is the polite copular form used to state an identification or relation, roughly “is” in this sentence. It does not itself express the ownership; that information comes from あなたの. A reusable polite pattern is [topic]は[identifying expression]です, as in これは私のです。 — “This one is mine.” Together, それは sets “that one” as the topic, あなたの identifies it as belonging to “you,” and です gives the statement a polite form. The whole utterance therefore means “That one is yours.”