..が分かるVS..を分かる

[Naguib]

Hello all,
I've seen both ...が分かる and ...を分かる, but I remember being taught in class that only が could be used for 分かる since it's a statement of fact, kinda like you're not acting on the object but you either just do or don't get it. Are both correct? Does it depend on the context? せつめいしてくれませんか？ Explain it to me??

I've encountered a similar problem with the potential, I was taught in class that only が can be used, but I've heard を. For instance: このことばをよめません。
According to Take Kim's grammar guide web site it's only が, but like I said i've seen both...

thanks a lot!

[taikutsu]

I can't find any authoritative explanations on this, but the general usage of ～を分かる I've seen is to modify a noun, such as ため or 人, whereas I've seen ～が分かる used in making statements. Which makes sense if I think about it.

[Javizy]

I've forgotten the answers to these questions in any detail, but I do have the resources to answer them. を seems to be related to volition, i.e. how much your own power to decide matters, in both cases. If you Google 分かろうとする, for example, it seems to be used with を, since ～ようとする means you are actively trying to do something. Anyway, I'll post a better explanation when I'm not so tired, if nobody else does.

[Ben Bullock]

Hello all,
I've seen both ...が分かる and ...を分かる, but I remember being taught in class that only が could be used for 分かる since it's a statement of fact, kinda like you're not acting on the object but you either just do or don't get it. Are both correct? Does it depend on the context? せつめいしてくれませんか？ Explain it to me??

I've encountered a similar problem with the potential, I was taught in class that only が can be used, but I've heard を. For instance: このことばをよめません。
According to Take Kim's grammar guide web site it's only が, but like I said i've seen both...

をわかる supposedly comes up more when one is talking about one's feelings.

私の気持ちをわかってください etc.

If it's any use to you, here is a discussion from a while ago (in Japanese, link to Google Groups) about this very topic.

[toonygal5459]

This requires some a little bit of grammar.

Okay, so...
を is used to indicate an object in a sentence.

For example:
リンゴを食べる　(ringo wo taberu/(He) eats apples)
"Apple" is the direct object of "eats."

And が comes before the predicate (the part of the sentence that indicates an attribute of something).

For example:
空が青い (sora ga aoi/The sky is blue)
"is blue" is the predicate of "the sky."

が emphasizes the subject, but を emphasizes the action or the predicate.

So 私はリンゴが食べたい　= I want to eat an apple (not a banana or an orange or an apricot, etc.)

私はリンゴを食べたい　= I want to eat an apple

That's why when you use the potential form of a verb like よめない you should almost always use が because this is what you can't read.