が vs を – Why が seems to show up in the Wrong Place
In Japanese が is the subject and を is the object or direct object particle. You have probably noticed that there are times when が shows up when を seems like it would make more sense. No worries, here I hope to explain why this happens and better yet help simplify it so you can remember when to use が vs を.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/INDEX
Exceptions where が can replace を
There are a few exceptions however where が replaces を as the object. If you just remember these few exceptions then you will have no trouble understanding when to use which particle. The three situations where you can say が instead of を for the object in a sentence are:
- When talking about wants
- Talking about possibility
- Certain Verbs for Feelings and Thinking
Wants
When you want to say, I want to do something, in Japanese, you add たい to the end of the verb. In Japanese, on of the most basic sentence structure is the following
[Noun①] は [Noun②] が [Adjective]
To make it more simple, let’s assign some actual words to the formula above
私は日本が懐かしい
Japan is nostalgic to me
Here, 私は is the Topic in the sentence and 日本が懐かしい is what we are saying about the topic. If we dissect the sentence more, 日本が is the object of adjective 懐かしい. When we are talking in the たい form, it can be thought of also as an adjective. For that reason, we can also use が as the object.
水が飲みたい
I want to drink water
At the same time, it is still a verb and we could have still used を instead of が. As the sentences get longer を is more commonly used in these situations. The reason is that the verb starts to feel more like a verb than a noun.
水をごくごく飲みたい
I want to drink water in gulps
Finally, depending on the verb, を is sometimes preferred to が. If the verb changes the object in some way, を is more likely to be used.
木を切り倒したい
I want to cut down the tree
Potential verbs
When verbs are in their potential form the object can be marked with が or を.
水が飲める
I can drink water
Thinking and Feeling verbs
There are a few verbs in Japanese where the object is always marked with が. These are all verbs relating to thinking, feeling, or sensations.
見える : to be visable
聞こえる : to be audible
分かる : to understand, be understandable
Also, verbs ending in できる which means to be able to do, can take on either が or を. However, if the meaning of the verb is related to thinking or feeling like the previous three verbs, が is more likely. For example:
理解できる : to comprehend, be comprehendable
信用できる : to believe in or trust
が vs を with Active and Passive Verbs
Finally, when verbs are in the passive form the object becomes the subject. For that reason, it is marked with が.
水が飲まれた
the water was drunk
Except there is a special passive verb form in Japanese which still uses を. This is for things that are done to someone which they do not like and feel out of their control.
水を飲まれた
I got my water drunk
Resources
- 水が飲みたい？ 水を飲みたい？
- 「-が-できる1」と「-を-できる」について
