Basic Place and Time Questions | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. それはどこですか？

   Where is it?

   それ

   it

   は

   as for

   どこ

   where

   ですか

   is it?

   More detail

   それ means “it” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun referring to something understood from the situation, but the supplied sentence does not identify exactly what that thing is. Japanese also uses related forms such as これ “this” and あれ “that over there”; the choice depends on the demonstrative system and context, not simply on the noun’s grammatical gender. は marks the topic. In this sentence, それ is the topic, giving the pattern それは ... (“as for it, ...”). は is pronounced wa here, although it is written with the kana は. Do not confuse this topic marker with が, which can mark a subject in other sentence patterns. どこ means “where” and asks about a place or location. A useful contrast is 何 “what,” which asks about an identity or thing rather than a location. For example, 駅はどこですか？ means “Where is the station?”; this is a new example, not a statement about the supplied context. ですか contains the polite copula です and the question particle か. です is the non-past polite form used here; か turns the clause into a question. Together with a location question, どこですか is a polite way to ask “where is it?” The question particle is not part of the meaning of どこ itself. Combining the parts in order, それは sets “it” as the topic, どこ asks for its location, and ですか makes the question polite: “Where is it?” The sentence asks for the location of the contextually understood item without specifying that item in the sentence itself.

2. あなたはどこにいますか？

   Where are you?

   あなたは

   you

   どこに

   where

   いますか

   are you present?

   More detail

   あなたは sets あなた (“you”) as the topic with は. In this sentence, あなた is the person being asked about; は marks that topic. A reusable pattern is Xは…ですか or Xはどこにいますか. どこに means “where” as the location connected to the verb. どこ is the question word “where,” and に marks the place where someone or something is located. For example, 駅はどこにありますか？ means “Where is the station?” いますか asks whether someone is present or located somewhere. Its base form is いる, used for animate beings; います is its polite non-past form, and か turns the statement into a question. For an inanimate thing, Japanese generally uses ある instead: 本はどこにありますか？ means “Where is the book?” Together, あなたは identifies the person being asked about, どこに asks for the location, and いますか politely asks where that person is located. The whole utterance means “Where are you?”

3. ここで何が起きましたか？

   What happened here?

   ここで

   here

   何が

   what

   起きました

   happened

   か

   question

   More detail

   ここで means “here,” with で marking the place where an event occurs. In this sentence, it locates the event rather than marking a destination. Example: ここで待ちます。 — “I’ll wait here.” 何が asks “what” as the subject of the event. 何 means “what,” and が marks it as the subject or the item being identified. Example: 何が必要ですか？ — “What is necessary?” 起きました is the polite past form of 起きる, “to happen” in this context: 起きる → 起きました. The same verb can also mean “to get up” in another context, so the surrounding meaning determines the sense. Here, it refers to an event that occurred. Example: 何が起きましたか？ — “What happened?” か marks the preceding clause as a question in this polite style. The basic pattern is [question clause] + か, as in 何時ですか？ — “What time is it?” Together, ここで identifies the place, 何が起きました asks about an event that occurred in the past, and final か makes the utterance a question: “What happened here?”

4. 何時ですか？

   What time is it?

   何時

   what time

   ですか

   is it?

   More detail

   何時 means “what time” when asking for a clock time. It is read nanji here. The same kanji 時 appears in 何時, but this fixed expression is specifically about the time on the clock, not the broader “when” meaning expressed by いつ, as in いつ来ますか？ (“When will you come?”). Example: 今、何時ですか？ — “What time is it now?” ですか makes the utterance a polite question using です, the polite copula, together with か, a question particle. In this sentence, です links the requested time to the idea “it is,” while か marks the whole utterance as a question. The subject is not stated; Japanese commonly leaves it implicit when the context makes it clear. Example: これは何ですか？ — “What is this?” Together, 何時ですか？ asks politely for the current clock time: “What time is it?”

5. いつ来ますか？

   When will you come?

   いつ

   when

   来ます

   come; will come

   か

   question marker

   More detail

   いつ means “when” and asks about the time of an event. It is a question word, not a marker of whether the event is past or future. For example, いつ来ましたか？ means “When did you come?” 来ます is the polite non-past form of 来る (“to come”). Japanese non-past forms can describe either a present situation or a future event, so here the intended meaning is “will come.” The verb’s polite forms include 来ます (non-past) and 来ました (past). For example, 明日来ます。 means “I will come tomorrow.” か at the end turns the sentence into a question. In this sentence, it applies to the complete question rather than to いつ alone. A statement such as 明日来ます。 means “I will come tomorrow,” while 明日来ますか？ means “Will you come tomorrow?” Together, いつ + 来ます + か forms the polite question “When will you come?”

6. どうして遅れましたか？

   Why are you late?

   どうして

   why

   遅れました

   were late

   か

   forms a question

   More detail

   どうして asks for a reason: “why.” It is a question word and does not itself identify who is late. A useful reusable pattern is どうして + clause + か, meaning “Why ...?” 遅れました means “were late” here. Its base form is 遅れる, “to be late” or, in another context, “to be delayed.” The form chain 遅れる → 遅れます → 遅れました shows the polite non-past form and the polite past form. Japanese verbs do not change here for the subject’s person or number, and the subject is omitted; the fixed translation supplies “you” for this utterance. Example: 電車が遅れました。 — “The train was delayed.” か is placed at the end to mark the preceding clause as a question in this polite style. It is not part of the verb’s meaning. Compare the statement 遅れました。 — “I/you/they were late” according to context — with 遅れましたか。 — “Were you late?” or “Was it delayed?” according to context. Together, どうして asks for the reason, 遅れました states the polite past situation of being late, and final か turns the utterance into a question: “Why are you late?”