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In this anime-esque example, which is correct?:

  1. 私はあなたが殺す
  2. 私はあなたを殺す

And why? Because I’ve heard it used with number • 2 • を (wo), but other verbs
seem to always use が, for example: 「私はエミリアが好きです」 Is 好き a noun in this context?
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2018-08-09T02:34:20.093
60761
2018-08-09T02:48:51.380
2018-08-09T02:48:51.380
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question
grammar verbs particle-が particle-を nouns
What is the difference between が and を when using verbs?
Both sentences are perfectly correct, but the meanings are totally different.
Let's start with 殺す because it's a rather simple transitive verb which takes
one subject and one object. Conclusion first, those two sentences translate
to:

>   1. 私はあなたが殺す = _You_ will kill me. / It's _you_ who will kill me.
>   2. 私はあなたを殺す = I will kill you.
>

In both sentences, 私 is marked with は. But Sentence 1 says "you kill me" and
Sentence 2 says "I kill you". Why? Let's review the basic functions of は, が
and を.

  * は is a **topic** marker. It can mark _both_ a subject and an object depending on what you want to "focus" in the sentence. It works **by replacing が/を**. 
    * [What is the subject of this sentence? Is it the book (mentioned) or the author (who is not mentioned)?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/17571/5010)
    * [What's the difference between wa (は) and ga (が)?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/22/5010)
  * が is a **subject** marker. It marks the subject of a verb.
  * を is an **object** marker. It marks the object of a transitive verb.

There are many exceptions, but these should be enough as a starter. In
Sentence 1, the subject is clearly あなた because it's unequivocally marked with
が. So 私 will be interpreted as the object of 殺す. In Sentence 2, the object is
あなた because it's unequivocally marked with を. 私 will be interpreted as the
subject of 殺す.

* * *

Regarding 私はエミリアが好きです, there is no verb in the first place because 好き is
something called a na-adjective. For details, see: [私は猫が好き and
猫は私が好き](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/17857/5010)
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2018-08-09T02:48:31.413
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2018-08-09T02:48:31.413
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answer