Qual é a diferença entre The U.S. government is not seeking the regime change. e The U.S. government is not seeking a regime change. ?

Question

wuffles · Accepted Answer

Without knowing the context that these sentences were spoken, all I can talk about is the general difference between "the" and "a."

The difference in "a" and "the" is in how we think of the noun. For example, we think of "a dog" differently than "the dog." So "a dog bit me" is different from "the dog bit me." They're both talking about one dog, but with "a dog" we think of the dog in a generic way. We don't think of it as an individual with it's own unique traits. It's just one member from the category dog. Well when we think of things like categories, we think of everything in that category like it's the same. So when we think of "a dog" we think of all dogs as being the same. 

"The dog" is different. Now we're thinking about a specific dog with it's own unique traits. It's unique from all other dogs.

Well, in English, we have a tendency to use "a" when we introduce something and "the" when we talk about it after that. So I could tell you, "A dog bit me today. It was really scary and I cried because the dog was mean." 

I used "a dog" to let you know of what category of noun I was going to be talking about (the category dog) and then once you were aware that I was talking about a dog, I used "the dog" because now you're aware which dog I'm talking about--I'm talking about the dog that bit me.

So when we use "a" we're just generically talking about a category and when we use "the" we're pointing to a specific thing in that category.

Therefore, "...seeking a regime change" is used when the speaker thinks you don't know which regime change they're talking about or they don't care about talking about any specific one. They just want to talk about all regime changes in general.

"...seeking the regime change" is used when the speaker is thinking of a specific regime change and they think you can determine from the context which one they're talking about.

chokopan · Answer

"the regime change" is more specific than "a regime change." "a" can refer to any possible change, but "the" refers to only one specific change.

chokopan · Answer

@starry-chan I've just started learning は vs が, and it's tricky! Any suggestions? :)

Also, I'm still trying to wrap my head around topics vs. subjects to be able to use は correctly, but the distinction is subtle, and I'm having a tough time with it.

chokopan · Answer

@starry-chan Brilliant explanation, thanks so much! You're going to be the best teacher. ; v ;

chokopan · Answer

@starry-chan Yeah, it does make sense! I've learned a little already about not having everything laid out in every sentence, but I didn't know this extended to が as well.

Why is it "I は I が went to the store", and not just "I が went to the store."

chokopan · Answer

Oh!! So in "I は I が went to the store:

I は = I is the topic (so about me)
I が = I is the subject (I'm doing something, i.e. going)

Is this the right idea? :D

chokopan · Answer

@starry-chan Thanks for your additional explanations! I'll write it all down - you're so helpful! :)

I won't lose sight of my goals! I'm determined to keep going! ^_^

wuffles · Answer

@tatsuca Articles and relative pronouns are things that can both be really complicated. I think it's best to learn them situation by situation. Like learning how to use articles to introduce something unknown verses talking about something the listener could know from the context. That's one situation. You could focus on mastering your usage of articles in that situation before learning how to use them in another.

This is how I learned how to use は and が in Japanese. These particles are really difficult and complicated for non-native speakers. But I can use them correctly most of the time. It's because I learned how to use them one situation at a time.

This is how I learned how to use は and が in Japanese. These particles are really difficult and complicated for non-native speakers. But I can use them correctly most of the time. It's because I learned how to use them one situation at a time.

wuffles · Answer

@chocoberrie A topic is like... the topic of the conversation but it isn't necessarily the subject of every sentence. For instance, if I'm talking about dogs, I can say lots of things that pertain to that.

"As for dogs, I think they're cute."

I started a new topic by saying "As for dogs..." That's like using は. It basically announces, "Hey I'm gonna talk about this for a little while."

Then I said, "I think they're cute." Even though the topic is still dogs, the subject of this sentence is "I" not "dogs" so it would get が. You can think of が as going with whoever actually does the verb. I'm doing the thinking that dogs are cute. Dogs aren't doing it. So I get が.

The grammar so far is basically this: dogsはIがthink they're cute.

は doesn't perform any actions. It kind of just floats there. Basically, it's just giving the sentences context. Like it's giving context to "I think they're cute" it tells you that they're = dogs.

As for how much you can say about a topic, I don't think there really is a limit. I'll say some more things about dogs:

As for dogs, I think they're cute. They're also really intelligent animals. I love teaching tricks to them. My friends love to see the tricks I taught my dog.

Okay, we have the "I think they're cute" sentence where the subject is me and would thus get が。Then we have the next sentence with the subject as dogs so the subject would be dogsが. Then we have the next sentence, where the subject is me again so Iが. And then there's the last sentence where my friends are doing the verb so it's My friendsが. And I could keep going.

All the while, the topic would still be dogs.

If I want to change the topic, I throw another は in there.

"As for cats...." then I say some stuff.
Catsは‘then I say some stuff.

All this stuff will be in the context of cats.

Does it make a little bit of sense now? If not I can throw different kinds of examples at you and it might click then.

wuffles · Answer

@chocoberrie I'm glad it was helpful. This stuff was confusing to me and I had to work so hard to learn it. That's probably why I understand it so well now. I sorted through all the nonsense and got through to the core meanings of these particles.

I also learned how they function in different situations. You see, what I taught you is the most basic idea of how these particles work. You gotta learn that first. After that it's a matter of learning how to apply the concepts to different situations. That's something you learn one situation at a time.

For example, I'll show you what happens when you specify a topic but no subject.

Iはwent to the store.

What's going on here? Who's doing the verb? It's "I", right? But doesn't a は not do the verb? Doesn't the が do that? What's going on?

Well actually, both these things are true. Iは is just the topic. It's not doing anything besides giving context. 

There is actually a が here but it's implied. We're able to figure out that the が is also I because no other が has been specified.

So the sentence is really IはIがwent to the store.

But it's redundant so nobody would say that.

Generally Japanese loves to leave out what can be understood from context.

That means you'll see many sentences without a は OR a が because you can figure them out from the context.

So to say "I went to the store" I could often just say "went to the store."

You see the way Japanese works is if you make a statement and give it absolutely no context, it's just assumed that the context is "I". So a Japanese person hears "went to the store" and subconsciously puts the "Iは and Iが" in there.

Questions work the opposite. If you ask a question with no は or が in it, it's assumed the context is the listener.

So if I ask you "went to the store?" you assume I'm talking about you.

Make sense?

wuffles · Answer

@chocoberrie Yeah you'll see both は's and が's get dropped a lot.

Anyway why is it "I は I が went to the store"? Because every sentence has both a は and a が even if they're not stated. That's because every sentence has somebody doing the verb and every sentence exists inside a context (a topic.)

So when I say "went to the store" the は and が are there they're just hiding haha.

Now, just looking at the above sentence, it might seem redundant to have both a は and a が in every sentence but that's only when they're both the same. Sometimes they're different. And when they're different, they interact. I'll illustrate this.

Daveはfeetがbig。

The topic is "Dave" so we're in the context of talking about Dave. The subject is "feet." Well since we're in the Dave context this would be understood as "Dave's feet." Well then I said "big." If you just have a noun or an adjective at the end of a sentence, it's saying something about the subject. So this is saying, "feet are big." Therefore we could translate this as, "Dave's feet are big."

wuffles · Answer

Yeah in that sentence both the topic and the subject was "I."

So basically: 
____は = I'm going to talk about ____
____ が = ____ is something that falls under this context and it's doing something or being something

In "IはIがwent to the store." You can think of it like, "I'm going to talk about me. I went to the store." or "Under the context of me, I went to the store."

This probably makes more sense when the topic and subject aren't the same.

Daveはhandsがsmallです。

This says that hands, under the context of Dave, are being small. (です = "to be"; it's like "is" or "are") In other words, Dave's hands are small.

A topic... it like.... it makes the context so it's absolutely anything that has to do with that subject. So the topic of Dave includes everything that pertains to him: his body parts, his friends, his interests, his possessions, etc.

So if we say "Daveはbookがdisappeared."  We're gonna interpret book as being part of the Dave context, so it must be his book. It couldn't be anybody else's because this isn't their context. So we understand this as "Dave's book disappeared."

What I've talked to you about today is a lot for most people to wrap their heads around, so please don't be discouraged if it's difficult. When you struggle with something, but you don't give up until you finally get it, it actually makes your brain grow and get smarter. Basically, learning difficult stuff is exercise for your brain. So the more you figure out the b/s that is Japanese grammar the more your brain is going to adapt to it and the easier it's gonna be haha :)

wuffles · Answer

@chocoberrie Yeah! Nurture that fire of passion and keep it strong. It will carry you through the seemingly endless hours you spend learning this language.

Qual é a diferença entre The U.S. government is not seeking the regime change. e The U.S. government is not seeking a regime change. ?Podes indicar apenas respostas exemplo.

"the regime change" is more specific than "a regime change." "a" can refer to any possible change, but "the" refers to only one specific change.

@starry-chan I've just started learning は vs が, and it's tricky! Any suggestions? :)

Also, I'm still trying to wrap my head around topics vs. subjects to be able to use は correctly, but the distinction is subtle, and I'm having a tough time with it.

@starry-chan Brilliant explanation, thanks so much! You're going to be the best teacher. ; v ;

@starry-chan Yeah, it does make sense! I've learned a little already about not having everything laid out in every sentence, but I didn't know this extended to が as well.

Why is it "I は I が went to the store", and not just "I が went to the store."

Oh!! So in "I は I が went to the store:

I は = I is the topic (so about me)
I が = I is the subject (I'm doing something, i.e. going)

Is this the right idea? :D

@starry-chan Thanks for your additional explanations! I'll write it all down - you're so helpful! :)

I won't lose sight of my goals! I'm determined to keep going! ^_^

@chocoberrie Yeah! Nurture that fire of passion and keep it strong. It will carry you through the seemingly endless hours you spend learning this language.

Pergunte a falantes nativos gratuitamente

Qual é a diferença entre The U.S. government is not seeking the regime change. e The U.S. government is not seeking a regime change. ?Podes indicar apenas respostas exemplo.

"the regime change" is more specific than "a regime change." "a" can refer to any possible change, but "the" refers to only one specific change.

@starry-chan I've just started learning は vs が, and it's tricky! Any suggestions? :)Also, I'm still trying to wrap my head around topics vs. subjects to be able to use は correctly, but the distinction is subtle, and I'm having a tough time with it.

@starry-chan Brilliant explanation, thanks so much! You're going to be the best teacher. ; v ;

@starry-chan Yeah, it does make sense! I've learned a little already about not having everything laid out in every sentence, but I didn't know this extended to が as well.Why is it "I は I が went to the store", and not just "I が went to the store."

Oh!! So in "I は I が went to the store:I は = I is the topic (so about me)I が = I is the subject (I'm doing something, i.e. going)Is this the right idea? :D

@starry-chan Thanks for your additional explanations! I'll write it all down - you're so helpful! :)I won't lose sight of my goals! I'm determined to keep going! ^_^

@chocoberrie Yeah! Nurture that fire of passion and keep it strong. It will carry you through the seemingly endless hours you spend learning this language.

Pergunte a falantes nativos gratuitamente

@starry-chan I've just started learning は vs が, and it's tricky! Any suggestions? :)

Also, I'm still trying to wrap my head around topics vs. subjects to be able to use は correctly, but the distinction is subtle, and I'm having a tough time with it.

@starry-chan Yeah, it does make sense! I've learned a little already about not having everything laid out in every sentence, but I didn't know this extended to が as well.

Why is it "I は I が went to the store", and not just "I が went to the store."

Oh!! So in "I は I が went to the store:

I は = I is the topic (so about me)
I が = I is the subject (I'm doing something, i.e. going)

Is this the right idea? :D

@starry-chan Thanks for your additional explanations! I'll write it all down - you're so helpful! :)

I won't lose sight of my goals! I'm determined to keep going! ^_^