Need a favor

[GoldCoinLover]

I posted this (http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20655) on the chit chat forum (please read if you want the whole back story). I got some good responses, but my question was never answered.

then, here's the kicker, I tried to ask the girls if my japaense was good or not, this is what I said, please someone correct it, I know i mustive made huge mitsakes because they didn't understand it at all!
watashi no nihongo ga suki desu ka? (Literally, "My japanese do you like (is)?"
Maybe the 'desu' threw it off..
It might've been: watashi no nihongo suki desu ka..


I also want to know if my american fax works with him (the guy I met - see original story). Please see the thread on the chit chat forum (http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20655) for the kanji on the card. As a last resort, maybe someone can call him and get his email? I can PM it.

Thank you

[Mandylion]

I take it you want to know about the "Do you like my Japanese bit?" I'm going to cut the rest down so it is easier to tell what you are after -

(PS: Also, please keep private discussions you have with other forum members, private.)

[pipokun]

"daijyobu" is a useful word. It is something like "OK" or "no problem".
the word is my brazilian friend's favorite word.

"Watashi no nihongo daijyobu?" will do for your J friends.

[WHEATTHlNS]

Its correct. . .but seems a weird question to ask - if your intent is to find out if they can understand your Japanese.

私の日本語（は）大丈夫（です）？

And someone already said what Ijust said. Well to not be a Repeating Randy -

私の日本語（を）わかり/わかれます？

[Glenn]

Two things:

1) わかる takes が to mark objects.
あいつが言っていることがさっぱりわからなかった。

2) わかる has no potential form. "Can understand" would be 理解できる, but I think just using わかる on its own is the safest way to go, as I believe the latter has some specific nuances.

[Elizabeth]

Two things:

1) わかる takes が to mark objects.
あいつが言っていることがさっぱりわからなかった。
Although there are certainly instances it can take は as well、
like 大体の意味はわかりますか？(Daitai no imi wa wakarimasuka?) sounds fine to me for GCL's case (Do you roughly get the meaning (of what I'm trying to say?)
Or, when you need to make a comparison with the それはわかりましたがこれはわかりません。pattern. There are other cases I just came across recently but can't recall now. Ah well, the day is still young here...will try to think of a better example later on. :relief:

[Glenn]

Yeah well, that gets into the whole issue of using は, though. The same thing could be said even if わかる took objects marked with を, because as we know, は overrides both が and を. I mean we could say that 食べる could take は to mark objects, because 魚は食べる is acceptable in the right circumstance to mean "I eat fish," but I wouldn't say that は marks objects, which it seemed to me you were saying. Sorry if I'm wrong about that.