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1. Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 16:27:39 UTC Tagomago

   • chiasm

   @chiasm I still don't know well when you use wa or wo as a separator ('cause it acts as separator, right?). Is wa for afirmative sentences and wo for the negative ones?

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:09:34 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • chiasm

     @chiasm Oh, thanks... I'm still a mess at those.

   • chiasm@mastodon.online's status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:09:35 UTC chiasm

     in reply to

     • Tagomago

     @tagomago Not as I understand it--I think wa is the topic marker and wo tends to be the direct object marker?

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:14:36 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • chiasm

     @chiasm Wiki to the rescue

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:16:10 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • chiasm

     @chiasm Some DL exercises did just that, so I was so puzzled, wtf is this.

   • chiasm@mastodon.online's status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:16:11 UTC chiasm

     in reply to

     • Tagomago

     @tagomago oh look at that! I didn't realize you could replace wo with wa.

   • chiasm@mastodon.online's status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:18:54 UTC chiasm

     in reply to

     • Tagomago

     @tagomago Yeah I don't think of them as separators so much as markers. Want to know what's the main noun of the sentence (usually the subject in English)?, look for wa. Want to know what the main noun for the verb is (if it's unclear), look for ga. Want to know who/what's being acted on, look for wo. In English we do a lot of it by word order and pronouns (I wrote him a book) but in Japanese they lay it all out for you--assuming they say it at all, which with pronouns they often don't. 😁

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:18:54 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • chiasm

     @chiasm Ya, I don't know where the separator idea came from, tbh. Maybe I just made it up. 🤷♂️

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:19:20 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • chiasm

     @chiasm Nah!

   • chiasm@mastodon.online's status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:19:21 UTC chiasm

     in reply to

     • Tagomago

     @tagomago I completely did not code that. I'm sure I did it in the lessons, but I don't remember that as a point that made me scratch my head... Sorry for leading you astray!

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:31:38 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • chiasm

     @chiasm Exactly!

   • chiasm@mastodon.online's status on Tuesday, 08-Feb-2022 19:31:40 UTC chiasm

     in reply to

     • Tagomago

     @tagomago Well DL's approach leverages our natural tendencies to see patterns and make stuff up to explain them. 😂

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Feb-2022 20:36:35 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • chiasm

     @chiasm Found this via a discuss button. Looks like he had the same confusion as me (us, who don't read the tips and make stuff up instead...)

     https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/22988086

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Feb-2022 20:38:27 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • chiasm

     @chiasm Great comment:

     >Both should work for both. More literally: 肉を食べます = [I] eat meat; 肉は食べます = concerning meat, [I] eat