How to Ask Who or What Exists in the Place?

To ask a question, you need to use some question words like だれ (dare) for people and なに
(nani) for animal and thing. Look at the following format...

Place に だれ がいますか
Place ni dare ga imasuka
Meaning: Who is in/at the Place? (existence of people)

Place に なに がいますか
Place ni nani ga imasuka
Meaning: What is in/at the Place? (existence of animal)

Place に なに がありますか
Place ni nani ga arimasuka
Meaning: What is in/at the Place? (existence of thing)

To show with some examples...

 Question: かいぎしつにだれがいますか。 (kaigishitsu ni dare ga imasu ka)

Answer: かいぎしつにたなかさんがいます。 (kaigishitsu ni tanaka san ga imasu)
Meaning:
Question: Who is in the meeting room?
Answer: Mr Tanaka is in the meeting room.
 Question: いすのしたになにがいますか。 (isu no shita ni nani ga imasu ka)
Answer: いすのしたにねこがいます。 (isu no shita ni neko ga imasu)
Meaning:
Question: What is below the chair?
Answer: A cat is below the chair.
 Question: はこのなかになにがありますか。 (hako no naka ni nani ga arimasuka)
Answer: はこのなかにりんごがあります。 (hako no naka ni ringo ga arimasu)
Meaning:
Question: What is inside the box?
Answer: An apple is inside the box.

How to Answer Yes/No Questions?

Sometimes the question is in such a format that you need to answer yes or no, like the
following...

Question: Place に Subject がいますか/ありますか

Answer: はい、 Subject がいます/あります (positive answer)
Answer: いいえ、 Subject がはいません/ありません (negative answer)
 Generally, particle は is used for negative sentences.

Negative form of います　→　いません (imasen)

Negative form of あります　→　ありません (arimasen)

Using some examples...

 Question: こうえんにはながありますか。 (kouen ni hana ga arimasuka)

Answer: はい、はながあります。 (hai, hana ga arimasu)
Answer: いいえ、はなはありません。 (iie, hana wa arimasen)
Meaning:
Question: Is there flower in the park?
Answer: Yes, there is flower.
Answer: No, there is no flower.

How to Say Nothing/No One Exists?

When there is nothing or no one exists in a place, use the following format...

Place には だれも いません
Place niwa dare mo imasen
Meaning: No one exists in/at the Place. (people)

Place には なにも いません
Place niwa nani mo imasen
Meaning: Nothing exists in/at the Place. (animal)

Place には なにも ありません
Place niwa nani mo arimasen
Meaning: Nothing exists in/at the Place. (thing)

Using Particle は (wa) as Topic Marker in the Existence Sentence

When the speaker is talking about something or someone both he and the listener know about,
you should use the following sentence pattern...

Person は Place にいます
Person wa Place ni imasu
Meaning: Person is in the Place.

Thing は Place にあります
Thing wa Place ni arimasu
Meaning: Thing is in the Place.
And when you want to ask where is the place for the above sentence pattern, use the question
word どこ...

Person は どこ にいますか
Person wa doko ni imasuka
Meaning: Where is the Person?

Thing は どこ にありますか
Thing wa doko ni arimasuka
Meaning: Where is the thing?

Using some examples to show the above sentence patterns...

 Question: やまださんはどこにいますか。 (yamada san wa doko ni imaska)

Answer: やまださんはきょうしつにいます。 (yamada san wa kyoushitsu ni imasu)
Meaning:
Question: Where is Mr Yamada?
Answer: Mr Yamada is in the classroom.
 Question: ほんはどこにありますか。 (hon wa doko ni arimasuka)
Answer: ほんはつくえのうえにあります。 (hon wa tsukue no ue ni arimasu)
Meaning:
Question: Where is the book?
Answer: The book is on the desk.