で・と・が・は - Nuance


ボブと戦ってる

Fighting with Bob (Against Bob/Bob is fighting someone, and that same someone
is fighting Bob)

ボブが戦ってる

Bob is fighting

ボブたちが戦ってる

Bob and them are fighting (not necessarily together nor necessarily against
the same thing)

ボブたちで戦ってる

Bob and them are fighting (together against the same thing)

ボブは戦ってる

(Lacking Context to Know, As for Bob, fighting, could replace と・が probably, or
it could mean something totally different)

This is my current understanding. (The above are my own sentences) My question
is, if と is used, then does that mean they are doing the action to each other?
Like if you use と with Hanasu they are both talking to each other. If you use
が with a verb that just means that those people are doing that verb. If you
use they with a group of people like ボブたち then that means they are doing an
action together, but not to each other.

And then は is super context dependent.

と - Reciprocal

が - Simply doing an action (in active sentences)

で - With a plural group of people, means they are doing the action together,
but not against each other

は - Context defined

Is this understanding correct?




For those sentences in particular, your understanding is all right.

As for が and は, you should know there are many aspects. Roughly it is correct
to assume they indicate a subject, everything else would depend on context.

For と and で, it depends on verbs and how you interpret them (or the term
_reciprocal_ ). For example,

  * 彼女とデートした

would mean _dated with her_ , arguably _did a date together_. (You could
interpret it as some sort of reciprocal activity.)

  * 二人でけんかしている

would mean _those two are arguing against each other_ , which could be
interpreted as reciprocal. (You could say _doing a quarrel together_ )

So _together_ or _reciprocal_ is more a matter of meaning/interpretation, and
you cannot really set one meaning for particles by themselves.

