Stand-alone “thing” words: これ = near me, それ = near you, あれ = away from both.
This is a dictionary.
That (near you) is my umbrella.
これ／それ／あれ are pronouns — they replace the noun and cannot be followed directly by another noun. The choice depends on distance: これ near the speaker, それ near the listener, あれ far from both.
Use this set directly before a noun: この本 = “this book”. Never use これ before a noun.
この ほんは わたしのです。
This book is mine.
あの ひとは ミラーさんです。
That person over there is Mr Miller.
この／その／あの always attach to a following noun. Same distance logic as これ／それ／あれ, but these describe the noun instead of replacing it.
Place words: ここ near me, そこ near you, あそこ away from both. Polite: こちら／そちら／あちら.
This place is the office.
The toilet is over there.
ここ／そこ／あそこ follow the same near/mid/far logic as これ／それ／あれ, but point at places. こちら／そちら／あちら are the polite versions (also “this way / direction”).
だれ (who) + の asks who something belongs to: だれの かばんですか = “Whose bag is this?”
Whose bag is this? … It's Sora's.
Built on the possessive N の N: the question word for “whose” is だれの. The answer reuses の and usually drops the noun: ソラさんの(かばん)です.
Replace は with も to say “also” — when the topic shares the same predicate as something already mentioned.
グプタさんも かいしゃいんです。
Mr Gupta is also an employee.
も takes the exact place where は would go and means “too / also”. It signals that the new topic gets the same comment as the previous one.
The negative of です is じゃ ありません (polite: では ありません).
サントスさんは がくせいじゃ ありません。
Mr Santos is not a student.
わたしは せんせいでは ありません。
I am not a teacher.
To make “A is B” negative, replace です with じゃ ありません. じゃ is the casual/spoken form; では ありません is its more formal equivalent (では is read “dewa”).
ね seeks the listener's agreement (“…, right?”); よ asserts something you think they don't yet know (“I tell you”).
Your major is literature, right?
Tonkatsu isn't fish, you know.
ね at the very end invites the listener to confirm or agree — it assumes you both share the information (“…, isn't it?”).
よ marks information you believe is new to the listener and want to assert. Overusing よ can sound pushy, so use it when you're genuinely informing or reassuring.