Untidiable?

[nekocat]

I wonder how much those interpretations can be altered, though, playing around with the context in a way that would make them more fully generalizable. For instance, if the with topic modifier pronoun この is dropped and a topic marker for the speaker added...

コンピューターは使えません
Given the implied context of 私は, for instance, this is very commonly translated into English as "I cannot use computers." Whether other people can or not is not the concern of the speaker so it is left unstated. The emphasis and implication with は is that there is something else that can be used. Is that a misleading or possibly very natural way of thinking of it?



Again, without the この indicating any computer in particular, are が、を not also being used to convey the message that the speaker is unable to use computers in general ? Whether anything else can be is ambiguous.

The emphasis and implication with は is that there is something else that can be used.

→There is something else that COULD be used, but the speaker doesn't know or care. Here again just considering "ha" as a topic marker works.

By the way, my only understanding of the difference in potential form marked by either が or を使えません is the latter sounds comes off as more like well-educated or polished speech than が ? At least I've never heard there is a difference in nuance or emphasis needed to distinguish the two.[/

No, absolutely not. Even conservative people frown upon hearing を in potential forms. These people are diminishing in number, I believe.

 

[Elizabeth]

No, absolutely not. Even conservative people frown upon hearing を in potential forms. These people are diminishing in number, I believe.

返事してくれてありがとうございます！:joyful:


This previous discussion of NANGI san and Epigene san is where I was coming from, but if it is only confined to 読める。。。

ために or ように？

 

[The7thSamurai]

返事してくれてありがとうございます！:joyful:

Ahh ok. I'll be sure to pay more attention to her posts next time. It's good to know how long or how good someone's Japanese really is before you go listening to their advice. I know in the past I've read people's advice and comments only to find out later on that they really don't know what they're talking about.

 

[The7thSamurai]

Even conservative people frown upon hearing を in potential forms. These people are diminishing in number, I believe.

Really? I wonder why?

 

[Elizabeth]

Really? I wonder why?

This is a link to the earlier posts I was talking about. Sorry about the formatting but I wasn't sure how accessible it was at the end of that thread....


This is a link to the earlier posts I was talking about. Sorry about the formatting but I wasn't sure how accessible it was at the end of that thread....

インターネットで、「英語を読める」という例文は、「英語が読 める」より使われることが多いけど。
仕事や公式な場合では、「を読める」を使う事はほとん どないの？ 「が」の方がずっと自然ですか 。

I think 「英語を読める」 is more natural than 「英語が読 める」 grammatically. Because 「英語を読むことができる」 is correct sentence but 「英語が読むことができる」 is unnatural sentence.
But in daily life, a lot of people use 「英語が読 める」 but not 「英語を読める」. Because Japanese people want to emphasize that "I can read English!". 「が」 is used in emphasis.

Which one is correct, 「英語を読める」 or 「英語が読 める」? I think 「英語が読 める」 is major but both of them are correct. And I think you should use 「英語を読める」 in formal.

I agree. が is used widely in spoken Japanese, regardless of whether it is emphatic or not. However, I think that every Japanese who consider oneself educated will use を, especially when writing.

Or maybe it's because I belong on the other side of the generation gap....

 

[nekocat]

Bucko たんに Liz たん、リンク先に回答しておきましたのでぜひ読んでください。
またね。