Japanese Particle Explanation

megumi

megumi

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Japanese Particle Explanation

Can somebody explain the difference between が and を as particles?

My Japanese teacher somewhat failed to explain the difference in class.

Explanation on the various other particles would be awesome as well.

Thanks in advance. ^^
 
Zodiac

Zodiac

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Okay, let's see...　が is a subject marker (e.g. 君が止める means "you will stop" or "you stop"; I forget which)

while を is an object marker (e.g. 僕を放して means "let me go").

What's confusing to me is that は (pronounced わ) is also a subject marker (a "topic marker", if you will; I don't understand the difference), and is the de-facto "to be" verb. (e.g. 私は隆です means "I am 'ryuu'".)

But don't take my word for it. I haven't formally studied Japanese; I only know the bit I do from an Internet resource.
 
megumi

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Hm... Finals for my Japanese class is next week...

Also, what dictates the usage of a wa-ga sentance structure? My friend asked that (due to me pointing out a particle-related grammar mistake in a sentence she wrote), but I couldn't exactly come up with an answer.

The textbook and the teacher just has been teaching us sentences that use those particles, though never exactly explaining that the particles actually represent, the difference and when to use them. Probably the only one that was properly explained was "はwa". Other than that, yeah...

Actually, in the sentence "私は隆です。" "desu" is actually the "to be" verb. "wa" still serves are the subject/topic marker.
 
Zodiac

Zodiac

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megumi;83136 said:
Actually, in the sentence "私は隆です。" "desu" is actually the "to be" verb. "wa" still serves are the subject/topic marker.
Click to expand...

I thought "desu" was strictly a politeness thing, because "私は隆" is completely valid, meaning "I am ryuu". (At least to my knowledge. It's been used a lot of times.) My friend who knows Japanese told me the same thing, that "desu" meant "to be".

I believe "ga" can be used in sentences where there is more than one subject.
 
megumi

megumi

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"私は隆" is valid simply because the Japanese tends to drop commonly used words (or replacing them with shortened version). Therefore, it seems as if "wa" is serving as the verb though the verb is simply "invisible".
 
Zodiac

Zodiac

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megumi;83364 said:
"私は隆" is valid simply because the Japanese tends to drop commonly used words (or replacing them with shortened version). Therefore, it seems as if "wa" is serving as the verb though the verb is simply "invisible".
Click to expand...

...I see. But doesn't "desu" serve as a politeness thing? It's really confusing.
 
megumi

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Zodiac;83366 said:
...I see. But doesn't "desu" serve as a politeness thing? It's really confusing.
Click to expand...

Well, more formality. Because in general "casual" talk, "desu" is often dropped. While when talking formally, they try to keep all the words in. Also full sentences also occur towards foreigners (who probably only learned formal, full sentences and it's more understandable). So in a way, yes, it's a politeness thing.
 
Crush

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megumi;78046 said:
Can somebody explain the difference between が and を as particles?
Click to expand...
わたしが。。。。。　やりました。。。。。
I Did It.....

わたしを。。。。。いじめないで。。。。。
Don't Bully Me
 
megumi

megumi

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"What dictates the usage of a wa-ga sentance structure?" (Quoted directly from a classmate)

Or more like, what cases would that particular structure occur?
 
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