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As an example, TextFugu uses the particles [は] and [が] in this way:
Q. いぬ が すき ですか？
A. はい、いぬ は すき です。
It then states this reason, “In the question, we used が because we identified the thing we’re asking about (dogs). Because dogs have already been identified, you can answer using は, which puts the emphasis and importance on whether or not you like them (i.e. what comes after は).
However, in a later example, [は] and [が] are used this way:
Q. わたしのくるまはすきですか？
A. いいえ、あなたのくるまがきらいです
After learning about the particles, I’m confused about the use of [が] rather than [は] in the answer portion, as the “topic” has already been identified (i.e. the person’s car), thus, what should be emphasized is the feeling towards the car which would entail the use of [は], right? Or am I wrong?
So, can anyone explain to me the use of [が] over [は] in the later example? Is it that you can use either one? Thanks.
In the second sentence, the topic is わたし – I hate your car. However, わたし as a topic is often dropped from sentences because it’s fairly apparent from the context.
One of the slightly odd things about Japanese is that when you have a transitive adjective (like すき, きらい, ほしい) the thing that would be the direct object in English is also marked by が, so that’s why there’s a が in the second example.
But honestly, the は/が thing is confusing to many, and I don’t really think Koichi does a very good job of explaining it…
It’s true that you get mixed messages from different resources online, almost the opposite take sometkmes. I think は is often used to single out one particular thing of many similar things. In koichi’s car ex above I take it to mean that the speaker is saying “of all cars, I don’t like yours in particular.” The Michel Thomas CD folks call it “the highlighting particle.” The more I post on italki.com and lang-8 the more I begin to get a sense.
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Additional Question would be:
Is it safe to always use が for the like/dislike adjectives?
For the first example:Q. いぬ が すき ですか？As in あなたはいぬがすきですか？
A. はい、いぬ が すき です。As in はい、わたしはいぬがすきです。
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This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by
Anna Sladek.
Yes. The use of は adds emphasis that you like that thing and not other things, but it’s always fine to use が.
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This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by
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