Which particle to use for potentials

Question

So i notice は、が、を are used in this case. For example:

英語が話せます

英語を話せます

英語は話せます

*I know my example might be wrong but im a beginner and absolutely clueless on this subject *

So how do we decide which one to use. Does it depend on the verb or the meaning we try to imply?

For が and を, see The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb. For は, the general difference between は and が applies; What's the difference between wa (は) and ga (が)? might help. — L. F., Jul 25 '22 at 09:30
Does this answer your question? The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb — Eiríkr Útlendi, Feb 21 '23 at 16:42

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 24 '22 at 14:30

Personally speaking, I don't sense much difference between が and を but I think there's a slight difference with は to those. は has a nuance of limiting targets and the limited one is 英語 in your scenario. Basically, it's like saying:

英語は話せます (が、フランス語は話せません)

And a listener might expect a next topic (which is that you can't speak French).

Which particle to use for potentials

1 Answers1