Subject: Re: Wa/Ga 
Date: 1997/12/14 

In article <348E2695.31B5ABFA@netvigator.com>, gkc says...
>
>When to use wa? When to use ga?

I'll try to put my explanation about this traditional topic/subject "Wa/Ga" in my way rather different from the others'.

Grammatically speaking, ga and wa belong to different groups of particles. Ga is a kakujoshi (case particle), while wa is a fukujoshi (adverbial particle).

In the kakujoshi group are -ga, -wo, -de, -e, etc. Kakujoshi describes the relative position of its preceding noun to the verb.

  Kodomo-tachi-ga kouen-de yakyuu-wo shiteiru.
                ^^      ^^        ^^

Ga defines the agent of the action (shiteiru), "de" the place of the action, and "wo" the target of the action. These particles help make clear the structure of the sentence. They don't add any additional meaning to the sentence. Kakujoshi translates to a preposition or nothing in English, like ga -> nothing, wo -> nothing, "de" -> "in", "e" -> "to".

In the fukujoshi group are -wa, -mo, -shika, -sae, etc. Fukujoshi has nothing to do with the relative position of the noun, and it can appear everywhere after a noun. It does add an additional meaning or flavor to the sentence. Most fukujoshi translate to adverbs in English, like, as you know, wa -> "as for ..." or "speaking of ..." (or nothing), mo -> "also", "shika" -> "only", and "sae" -> "even".

Kakushoshi and fukujoshi can go well together.

  Kouen-ni-wa kodomo-tachi-dake-ga nokotta.
        ^^^^^              ^^^^^^^

An important thing to note is that "wa" and some fukujoshi override "ga" and "wo". We never say "Ame-ga-wa yanda", but "Ame-wa yanda". When you put this correct sentence together with a "ga" example, look:

  Ame-wa yanda.
  Ame-ga yanda.

Gee, this looks as if wa and ga were in equivalent position. No wonder beginners think that ga has a special meaning in contrast with "wa". As Bart sensei pointed out, ga has no meaning of emphasis.

The phrase "new information" appears often in the explanation of ga, but it's not what ga means by itself, either. Every part of a statement except the -wa part should be new information, otherwise such "not-new" information wouldn't deserve uttering. "New information" is not special about ga, but common to all the kakujoshi. I'll just show you a wo example of new information or emphasis:

  Kinou nani wo tabeta?
  _Unagi-wo_ tabemashita.