> **Possible Duplicate:**  
>  [The difference between が and を with the potential form of a
> verb.](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/609/the-difference-
> between-%e3%81%8c-and-%e3%82%92-with-the-potential-form-of-a-verb)

I know the difference between 見る, 見られる, and 見える. I know that 見える and 見られる are
verbs expressing a potential, which means they are intransitive, and thus
implies they cannot have direct objects marked using を.

How come I sometimes see を used with 見られる? ([Examples on Space
ALC](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E3%82%92%E8%A6%8B%E3%82%89%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B))

For example, why is

> 今、その場所 **を** 見られる？

not

> 今、その場所 **が** 見られる？

What are the rules for using を instead of が?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-22T12:22:53.583
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2012-10-23T18:53:13.140
2017-04-13T12:43:44.207
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question
particles potential-form
In what cases do I use 見られる with を?
This is basically conjecture on my part as I don't have an authoritative
answer, but from what I've observed, saying を見られる tends to place more emphasis
on the seeing part whereas が見られる tends to emphasize the thing being seen,
however they may be virtually interchangeable. Despite the rules on using を
with potential verbs it's still something that happens pretty regularly. You
also need to be careful not to mix up the potential and passive forms of 見られる,
as 手紙（など）を見られた is a grammatical sentence.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-22T12:49:14.707
8195
2012-10-22T12:49:14.707
1797
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answer