I'm still a beginner with japanese.
Here is the example that I foud: すみませんが、さとうをとってください
I'm not completely sure about the meaning of が in this sentence, since the teacher told me you can both use it or not. What is it for?
2 Answers
「が」 simply means "but".
「すみませんが、さとうをとってください。」 =
"Excuse me, but please pass me the sugar."
You can also make the same request without using 「が」 by saying:
「すみません。さとうをとってください。」 =
"Excuse me. Please pass me the sugar."
The difference between the two is almost too subtle to mention. It just flows a little better with 「が」IMHO.
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Could be weird to skip が in the case of not wanting to hurt anyone's feeling, where you would use 悪いけど in タメ語.– oldergodCommented Feb 4, 2015 at 9:05
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「ガ」を入れて、自分のことを擁護になる可能性が高くなりますか。「すみませんが、それができません」の場合が多いですか。（非母語の人のセンス...）– virmaiorCommented Feb 4, 2015 at 9:31
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My question was a clarification one for l'electeur, but I was wondering whether adding the "が" can add a sense of defense (think Socrates' Apology) versus contrition in non-が versions. It's a very minor point and one that doesn't at all affect the meaning of "が" which as l'electeur explains is "but". (I asked it in Japanese precisely because I felt it would only serve to confuse to add this sort fine-grained information).– virmaiorCommented Feb 4, 2015 at 9:38
yes that's right. we can use the both sentence in the same sense.
A: "すみません。さとうをとってください"
B: "すみませんが、さとうをとってください"
Note:
"すみませんが" or "申し訳ありませんが" or "恐れ入りますが"...etc
These are just like the Cushion.
A is just it has been completed.
B can be connected to the sentence after without punctuation.
"すみませんさとうをとってください" NG
"すみませんがさとうをとってください" OK
adverb
"さとうをとってください。すみません。" OK
"さとうをとってください。すみませんが。" NG
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私によって、この答えは悪くはないが、質問者は特に「が」の意味に気になっているため、ほぼ同じだけではなく、どのように変わっている教えて欲しいと思います。– virmaiorCommented Feb 4, 2015 at 10:07