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I was wondering what the correct version of this sentence is

私｛わたし｝が木｛き｝好｛す｝きです。 私｛わたし｝は木｛き｝好｛す｝きです。

If the correct version is even there.
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2016-07-09T20:10:06.827
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grammar
should I use が or は for the sentence 私が木は好きです。and is that sentence even correct?
It should be 私は木が好きです。は comes first because it defines 私 as the subject. Since
木 is the object, it gets が after it. 木は私が好きです would mean "the tree likes me".
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2016-07-09T20:25:52.290
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bcloutier’s answer makes a dangerous shortcut! The truth is that は marks the
**topic** , not the subject, and が marks the **subject** , not the object.

Often, the topic and subject coincide, but in this case they’re different.
**好き just means “favourable, enjoyable”.** It’s closer to an adjective than a
verb (though the two concepts blur together a little in Japanese). If
something is 好き for you, that means you like it. It’s not a [transitive
verb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitive_verb) like English’s “to like”.
And the absolutely 100% literal translation of the correct sentence,
「私は木が好きです」, is something like “(Topic: me.) Trees are favourable.” In other
words:

  * The topic is 私: this sentence is from my point of view; it has to do with me.
  * The [predicate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predicate_\(grammar\)#Predicates_in_modern_theories_of_syntax_and_grammar) is 好き: this sentence describes some subject _X_ as favourable.
  * The subject is 木: said _X_ is “trees”.

Now, in _this specific case_ , from an English angle, the topic is very
subject-y, and the subject is very object-y. But it’s dangerous to look at it
that way, because it’s vague, and hides what is really going on.
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は is generally used in the sentence with adjective like 彼女は美しい、海は広い. So
私は木が好きです is general.

However when it is the answer for a question and you identify the person, が is
used. For example, "誰が学校で一番美しいですか?""彼女が一番美しいです". So if you identify the person
who likes trees is you, you say 私が木が好きです.
<http://www.alc.co.jp/jpn/article/faq/03/19.html>

In addition, you can place が and は after 木, if you use が, it has normal
meaning, but if you use は, you can imply contrast or emphasis like you
especially like trees. However I feel 私が木は好きです is unnatural.
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2016-07-10T09:02:36.460
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