～は～が～has long hair; is tall
This is how Japanese says "she has long hair" and "he is tall". You name the person or thing with は, then the part with が, then say what that part is like.
My older sister has long hair.
My older brother is tall.
The streets in this town are narrow.
How to form it
X は + part が + what it is like
X is a person, an animal, a place or a thing. The part is a part of the body, or something else that belongs to X: its rooms, its streets, its prices. What comes last is usually an adjective.
Two steps where English has one
English folds the part into "has long hair", or into one word like "tall". Japanese takes two steps. は says what you are talking about. が marks which part you mean.
Elephants have long trunks.
"As for elephants, the nose is long."
What people are like
高い alone is "high" or "expensive". "Tall" for a person is 背が高い. And this "has" isn't あります.
Not said: 兄は
(My older brother is tall.)
兄は背が高いです.
Not said: 姉は
(My older sister has long hair.)
ある only says the hair is there. To say what it is like: 姉は髪が長いです.
What hurts, and how you feel
About your own body, 私は is usually left out. It is clear whose head it is.
I have a headache.
Where does it hurt?
My throat hurts.
At the doctor's.
I'm hungry.
English has one word for it. Japanese says your stomach has emptied.
Places and things
The prices at this restaurant are high.
With 多い (many) or 少ない (few) at the end, it says a place has a lot or a little of something.
This park has many trees.
Tokyo has a lot of people.
猫はしっぽが or 猫のしっぽは?
This cat has a short tail.
About the cat. This is what it is like.
This cat's tail is short.
About the tail. It fits when tails are what you were talking about.
Both are correct. To describe a person, an animal or a place, the first is the usual one.
Close neighbours
がN5
The same shape with 好き, 上手 and わかる. There が marks what you like or are good at, not a part of you.
ある・いるN5
"Have" for time, money, brothers and sisters, pets. It says you have them, not what they are like.
I have two older brothers.
Check yourself
1"My father is tall."
Choose an answer to see why.
2"That dog has big ears."
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
In a "no", the part often takes は
In a "no" answer, or when you set one thing against another, this が often becomes は.
Is your younger brother tall too?
No, he isn't tall.
The tall one: 背が高い人
Without the は part, the rest goes in front of a noun.
That tall person is Tanaka.
More sentences
The rooms in this hotel are quiet.
This car has a beautiful color.
The ramen at this shop is good.
Winters in Hokkaido are cold.
My throat hurts.