48005
In some of the example phrases of my textbook, these two sentences appeared.

  1. 弟はいつもコンピューター_?_ばかりしている。 Here where I used the bold question mark I'd usually expect the particle を to indicate the direct object. But it's not there. Does this happen regularly? And if so, under what circumstances is it allowed?

  2. 最近忙しくて、テレビのドラマとか映画とか見る時間がありません。 Same as in 1, just in a different construction so that you can explain the different reasons for the omission of を, if there are different reasons at all.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-03T11:16:31.803
47992
2017-06-03T19:30:43.890
20172
question
grammar particles
Is it necessary or optional to omit the particle を in these sentences?
Particle omission (助詞落ち) depends not only on what it follows/it is followed
by, but also on the "environment" (what particle is used in the sentence etc.)

First, you have to know that in "old japanese", combining most particles (if
not all) was the correct way, and you can still encounter some of them in
modern japanese, like をも, をは (をば) etc. Not mentioning all the double particles
that are used all the time like からも, までも etc.

Anyway that being said, in modern japanese some double particles like をも have
been contracted in も with を being dropped (even though you might encounter をも
written somewhere once in a while). And ばかり acting as a particle, you will
often see/hear ばかり used alone with the を dropped. It is the same case with だけ,
くらい, ほど etc. which act as particles, so it is very common to use them by
themselves and in some cases more natural. The same goes for とか. But remember
that this is not the case all the time, 「とかを」, 「ばかりを」, 「をばかり」, 「だけを」, 「だけが」,
「とかが」etc. are still used even though some of them are (a lot) less common
(thus unnatural).

Secondly, particles can be omitted (or changed but this is another subject)
depending on the other particles and words used elsewhere in the sentence, or
just depending on the sentence itself (politeness, if it's long or not etc.).
But most of the time this is in casual speech, hence not correct
grammatically. Example:

> 映画みたよ X (even though it is widely used)
>
> 映画を見たよ O
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-03T19:30:43.890
48005
2017-06-03T19:30:43.890
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
22196
47992
answer