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AにBを飾る or BでAを飾る?

4 Apr 2014
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I think i've seen both variations so far. Are both 玄関に花を飾る and 花で玄関を飾る grammatically correct? If so, what about nuances? To my Indo-European ear 花で玄関を飾る sounds more natural, although i can see how one can 飾る something onto something else.
 
玄関に花を飾る and 花で玄関を飾る are both correct, but the former is more common. 玄関に花を飾る is just an image of a vase with flowers in it, whereas 花で玄関を飾る sounds like the entrance is filled with flowers. The difference is from the object; what is put/decorated (花を飾る vs. 玄関を飾る).
 
Thanks for the answers. Now that i've come to learn about 壁塗り代換 phenomenon
it makes much more sense to use に with the object and を with the means in 飾る、塗る cases.
And i'm glad to know that the opposite is also possible in certain cases (like in "filled with flowers" case above)
 
Notice that 飾る has a different nuance between 花を飾る and 玄関を飾る. The former is closer to "to put", whereas the latter is "to decorate". Therefore 花で玄関を飾る has a nuance of "being filled with flowers", not only the ground but maybe also the walls or door. It's also same for 壁に絵を飾る vs. 絵で壁を飾る. The former is "to put a picture on a wall", but 絵 might not be singular in the latter.
As you can see above, in the sentence 玄関に花を飾る, 玄関 is the location, not the object. 花 is not the means, either.
 
Notice that 飾る has a different nuance between 花を飾る and 玄関を飾る. The former is closer to "to put", whereas the latter is "to decorate". Therefore 花で玄関を飾る has a nuance of "being filled with flowers", not only the ground but maybe also the walls or door. It's also same for 壁に絵を飾る vs. 絵で壁を飾る. The former is "to put a picture on a wall", but 絵 might not be singular in the latter.
That's exactly how i understood it.

As you can see above, in the sentence 玄関に花を飾る, 玄関 is the location, not the object. 花 is not the means, either.
Calling grammatical units properly was never my strong point.
 
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