To Have.
“Person who chases two rabbits catches neither.” – Confucius
What do you think of when you think of the phrase “to have”?
I tend to think of unliving things. Things that are, well, things. Because, if you “have” a person, that can come off as kind of weird / strange. Sure, in some situations, like when you have a couple in a relationship or something along those lines, it’s kind of like you “have” each other, but for the most part when you “have” something you have something inanimate… something not living. A thing.
In cases like these, you’d use ある … that’s short for あります, if you want to be polite about it (instead of casual).
So here’s the deal. Before you move on, you have to know the meaning of ある and what it covers:
- It means “to have”
- Refers to non-living, inanimate things. This can also be intangible things, like a “problem” or something along those lines.
- Not something you’d generally use on living things (that’d just be mean!).
Keep these three things in mind. Pop it in your notes… whatever you need to do. Next we’re going to look at some examples of ある in action, to make sure you live and breathe the above points.