Tuesday, November 13, 2018

grammar - たい form が vs を untangling


This question is posted exactly because it's been answered a few times and various other sources describe it differently as well - varying degree to which one is preferred and why.
So far I've come across 7 different explanations (as I understood them):



  1. With たい you use が (I don't think this is frequent)

  2. With たい you should use が, but sometimes people would use を


  3. With たい it is preferred to use が, but を is fine

  4. With たい you sometimes change を to が (no specific criteria)

  5. With たい you can use either, no preference no criteria

  6. With たい using が focuses the target of desire and を focuses the desire itself

  7. With たい there are various criteria that you use to decide between が and を, those outside can use either? Source: https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/how-to-express-desire/ - haven't found anything as specific elsewhere


What is the ultimate take? Is it one if these? A combination of them? Something completely different?
I feel like I do hear が comparatively more often, but haven't been able to infer a specific ruleset Thank you



Answer



I found some interesting papers about this topic. I think this is the best article for you.

http://r-cube.ritsumei.ac.jp/repo/repository/rcube/1419/L599higasiya.pdf


He says that it used to be that が is the only correct choice, but in younger generations, the number of people who use を is increasing. There are some patterns where younger generations use を instead of が.


For example, when the verb is a pure static verb (such as できる or 好き), most people chose が, but when the verb is an action verb (such as 折りたい from 折る+たい, or 弾ける from 弾く+ける), people tend to use を.


And I also think it's interesting that, in sentences with longer context, using を feels more natural.


There are several conditions where younger generations use を instead が. I recommend you to read this article.


Ritsumeikan university is a famous private university in eastern Japan. I think this survey is reliable considering the literature level of the students.


As a young native Japanese speaker, I choose が or を unconsciously. I feel (and it's written in the article) that there are some cases where:



  1. が and を is interchangeable

  2. が is more natural


  3. を is more natural


Some people may say only が is correct because they learned it when they are children. But language is always changing!


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