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I learned about がる from two different native teachers and both explained it
differently. The first one said that がる is seemed/looks like someone wants
something

> 猫が欲しがってる  
>  The cat seems to want it
>
> 僕たちは何もかもを欲しがった  
>  We act like we wanted anything (and everything)

The other one said it is not "seems" it more like, "tendency to do X" and that
we don't have a similar concept in English.

> 父親はタバコをよく吸いたがった  
>  My father had the tendency to smoke a lot.

So I want to ask, which explain is the right one? Are they both right?

Thanks. Or
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2018-10-03T19:29:36.127
61957
2018-10-04T14:06:57.247
2018-10-03T19:56:20.843
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question
grammar meaning
need help to understand がる/ がっている
Reading OP's comment, I've got an impression that translating がる into "seems
to" is misleading after all. The point is not how s/he looks but what s/he
does.

To be honest, it's not easy for me to grasp がる comprehensively. So, let me
explain with some examples.

When you say 寒がる, what it essentially indicates is not how s/he looks but the
fact that s/he shivers with cold or so. You may be able to conclude that s/he
seems feeling a chill, but that's a secondary thing.

When it comes to 欲しがる, it means, in short, to try to get something. 猫が欲しがってる
essentially expresses how s/he is asking for something in somewhat way, which
is also a minor yet significant difference between 欲しいと思っている, which is exactly
to want.

When you use it for one's habit, you could translate it into "tendency" or
something.
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2018-10-04T12:09:54.383
61964
2018-10-04T12:09:54.383
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answer