Should I always use を after an object?


I was studying some particles and I already understood the difference between
of が and は. Also the function of the particle を and its usage. I wonder if it
is possible to NOT use it in a phrase? Take a look at the example below.

> ねこがこいぬ **を** いじめていた。- A cat was bullying a puppy

Do we really need that mora を after _the puppy_ object there?




Ok let me give a proper answer. First of all, I think you have a typo in your
example since いじのてた does not mean anything and I believe you probably mean
いじめていた from the verb 苛｛いじ｝める that means "to tease, to torment, to persecute"
etc.

**EDIT 2:** After all the comments, I will re-organize my answer trying to
address all the points in hope everyone will be happy with it. In particular
there was a stupid mistake I will remove.

I will cut it short and say that the answer to your question is, in my
opinion: it depends (hence no, you don't always need を after the object).

Take this simple example: _I can speak Japanese_ , that is:

> （私は）日本語 **を** 話せます。

In this case you need を.

However, if you are casually talking with someone you would say:

> （私は）日本語話せるよ。

This second one, in the right context, is also acceptable. If you were talking
in a casual register with your friends but stuffed all the particles at the
right place it would probably sound a bit weird. However, do not confuse
grammar with formal/informal speech. Grammar would want you to put that
particle there. In general in written text you always must put the particles
where needed. However, I think that since we live in an era where instant
messaging led to an extreme increase of "informal" text, it's also important
to mention that even in "written text" depending on the context it is
acceptable to omit を (as well as all other particles). Again, bear in mind
this is not grammatical.

Now the trick. If you simply ask about placing を after the object, then
certainly you do not need always を. Consider the following:

> 私は日本語 **が** 話せます。
>
> 私は日本語 **も** 話せます。

These also make perfect sense! For example, if you want to express that
Japanese is the language you can speak, among others that you can't you would
use が. If you are saying that you speak Japanese as well as other languages,
you would use も. These are two examples of sentences where the object is not
followed by を.

There is another important example that came to mind thinking of this
thoroughly (and thanks to all the comments that made me do so). That is:

You can omit を when you change the structure of the sentence making what the
particle を is indicating the "topic" of the sentence. What does this mean?

I could use the same example from above but let's make a different one:

> （私は）コンビニでこの弁当{べんとう} **を** 買{か}いました.

I (subject) bought this bento (object) at the convenience store.

Now make the bento the topic of the sentence, that is:

> この弁当 **は** コンビニで買いました.

Notice that the bento is still the object here (although omitted you, who are
buying, are the subject of the sentence).

This is another example where を after an object is omitted, or better replaced
by は. Maybe it just follows in the category above where simply another
particle is used but I think could be interesting to point out as well.

**Bottom line** : not necessarily the object of a sentence is always followed
by を. You can indeed use other particles depending on the context and what you
actually want to express, or omit it completely if you are having a casual
conversation (whether oral or written).




Ok let me give a proper answer. First of all, I think you have a typo in your
example since いじのてた does not mean anything and I believe you probably mean
いじめていた from the verb 苛｛いじ｝める that means "to tease, to torment, to persecute"
etc.

**EDIT 2:** After all the comments, I will re-organize my answer trying to
address all the points in hope everyone will be happy with it. In particular
there was a stupid mistake I will remove.

I will cut it short and say that the answer to your question is, in my
opinion: it depends (hence no, you don't always need を after the object).

Take this simple example: _I can speak Japanese_ , that is:

> （私は）日本語 **を** 話せます。

In this case you need を.

However, if you are casually talking with someone you would say:

> （私は）日本語話せるよ。

This second one, in the right context, is also acceptable. If you were talking
in a casual register with your friends but stuffed all the particles at the
right place it would probably sound a bit weird. However, do not confuse
grammar with formal/informal speech. Grammar would want you to put that
particle there. In general in written text you always must put the particles
where needed. However, I think that since we live in an era where instant
messaging led to an extreme increase of "informal" text, it's also important
to mention that even in "written text" depending on the context it is
acceptable to omit を (as well as all other particles). Again, bear in mind
this is not grammatical.

Now the trick. If you simply ask about placing を after the object, then
certainly you do not need always を. Consider the following:

> 私は日本語 **が** 話せます。
>
> 私は日本語 **も** 話せます。

These also make perfect sense! For example, if you want to express that
Japanese is the language you can speak, among others that you can't you would
use が. If you are saying that you speak Japanese as well as other languages,
you would use も. These are two examples of sentences where the object is not
followed by を.

There is another important example that came to mind thinking of this
thoroughly (and thanks to all the comments that made me do so). That is:

You can omit を when you change the structure of the sentence making what the
particle を is indicating the "topic" of the sentence. What does this mean?

I could use the same example from above but let's make a different one:

> （私は）コンビニでこの弁当{べんとう} **を** 買{か}いました.

I (subject) bought this bento (object) at the convenience store.

Now make the bento the topic of the sentence, that is:

> この弁当 **は** コンビニで買いました.

Notice that the bento is still the object here (although omitted you, who are
buying, are the subject of the sentence).

This is another example where を after an object is omitted, or better replaced
by は. Maybe it just follows in the category above where simply another
particle is used but I think could be interesting to point out as well.

**Bottom line** : not necessarily the object of a sentence is always followed
by を. You can indeed use other particles depending on the context and what you
actually want to express, or omit it completely if you are having a casual
conversation (whether oral or written).

