Are all these sentences trying to say the same thing but different ways?


>   * むかし、フットボールはギリシャでもロームでも人気でした。
>   * むかし、フットボールはギリシャでもロームでも人気がありました。
>   * むかし、ギリシャとロームでフットボールが人気でした。
>




Short answer is yes, the meaning is the same. I believe the thing that changes
in these three cases is **focus**.

* * *

My understanding in detail, starting with **case 1** :

> The basic sentence is: フットボールは人気でした。  
>  Literary: `Football was popular`

Extra information about the location is then added.

> むかし、フットボールはギリシャで人気でした。  
>  Literary: `In the old days, football was popular in Greece`  
>  むかし、フットボールはロームでも人気でした。  
>  Literary: `In the old days, football was popular in Rome too.`

In one sentence this becomes:

> むかし、フットボールはギリシャでもロームでも人気でした。  
>  Literary: `In the old days, football was popular in Greece and in Rome
> too.`

The focus is on the _popularity_ of the _locations_. `は` is an extra piece of
information saying **what** was popular in `Greece and Rome`, but it can also
be excluded. The sentence then becomes a simple:

> 人気でした。  
>  Literary: `It was popular.`

So `は` _loosely_ adds an extra piece of information that could possibly be
excluded, giving more focus on the adjective.

This is the exact opposite of **case 3** with `が`. In this case, choosing `が`
allows us to emphasize on the sport and adding this piece of information with
a more _" necessary"_ feel to the sentence.

**Case 2** is a bit more interesting. If you were to try translating it word-
by-word and take the _long way around_ , you would end up with something like
this:

`In the old days, as far as football is concerned, in Greece and in Rome too,
there was popularity.`

This of course done to emphasize on this part: `there was popularity`. You can
also add `to be found`, to the end of that to get a better understanding. It
gives the hint that there is a bit more than the word itself states.  
However, the most important difference is **formality** and **respect**. This
way of saying it is a lot more formal and respectful.

These are my thoughts when reading these three sentences. I hope they are
helpful to you, and hopefully answered your question.  
_PS: Go Greece! <3 Haha :D_




Short answer is yes, the meaning is the same. I believe the thing that changes
in these three cases is **focus**.

* * *

My understanding in detail, starting with **case 1** :

> The basic sentence is: フットボールは人気でした。  
>  Literary: `Football was popular`

Extra information about the location is then added.

> むかし、フットボールはギリシャで人気でした。  
>  Literary: `In the old days, football was popular in Greece`  
>  むかし、フットボールはロームでも人気でした。  
>  Literary: `In the old days, football was popular in Rome too.`

In one sentence this becomes:

> むかし、フットボールはギリシャでもロームでも人気でした。  
>  Literary: `In the old days, football was popular in Greece and in Rome
> too.`

The focus is on the _popularity_ of the _locations_. `は` is an extra piece of
information saying **what** was popular in `Greece and Rome`, but it can also
be excluded. The sentence then becomes a simple:

> 人気でした。  
>  Literary: `It was popular.`

So `は` _loosely_ adds an extra piece of information that could possibly be
excluded, giving more focus on the adjective.

This is the exact opposite of **case 3** with `が`. In this case, choosing `が`
allows us to emphasize on the sport and adding this piece of information with
a more _" necessary"_ feel to the sentence.

**Case 2** is a bit more interesting. If you were to try translating it word-
by-word and take the _long way around_ , you would end up with something like
this:

`In the old days, as far as football is concerned, in Greece and in Rome too,
there was popularity.`

This of course done to emphasize on this part: `there was popularity`. You can
also add `to be found`, to the end of that to get a better understanding. It
gives the hint that there is a bit more than the word itself states.  
However, the most important difference is **formality** and **respect**. This
way of saying it is a lot more formal and respectful.

These are my thoughts when reading these three sentences. I hope they are
helpful to you, and hopefully answered your question.  
_PS: Go Greece! <3 Haha :D_

