The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb


When using the potential form of a verb, I was taught that the particle を
becomes が. However, in real life this seems to not always be the case. I've
even heard Japanese people use を instead of が quite often.

What's the difference between the following two sentences? Is を actually
grammatically correct?

> ここで切符が買えますか？
>
> ここで切符を買えますか？




In the が + potential construction, the focus is on the noun.

> 新聞が読める (what I am able to read is newspapers [as opposed to other written
> media])
>
> ここで切符が買えますか (is this where tickets [as opposed to other items for sale] can
> be bought?)

In the を + potential construction, the focus is on the entire phrase.

> 新聞を読める (what I am able to do is read newspapers)
>
> ここで切符を買えますか (is this where I am able to buy tickets [as opposed to doing
> some other action]?)

を + potential is not yet considered standard, but has begun to gain acceptance
among some speakers.

(Paraphrased from _Japanese: The Spoken Language_ )




In the が + potential construction, the focus is on the noun.

> 新聞が読める (what I am able to read is newspapers [as opposed to other written
> media])
>
> ここで切符が買えますか (is this where tickets [as opposed to other items for sale] can
> be bought?)

In the を + potential construction, the focus is on the entire phrase.

> 新聞を読める (what I am able to do is read newspapers)
>
> ここで切符を買えますか (is this where I am able to buy tickets [as opposed to doing
> some other action]?)

を + potential is not yet considered standard, but has begun to gain acceptance
among some speakers.

(Paraphrased from _Japanese: The Spoken Language_ )

