Questions tagged [potential-form]
可能形. The conjugated form that allows the verb to express ability.
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Parsing or meaning of 我らに戦えと
This is in a Manga where B is asked by A:
A: お前たち恵み多き地に住みたくないか?
B: それは… 我らに戦えと? かつてはそういった土地を手に入れるため戦{いくさ}に明け暮れましたが[...]
While I get the meaning of the rest, I don't know how to deal with 我らに戦えと, ...
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181 views
How does 「信じられている」 differ from 「信じている」 in this sentence?
仲睦まじい様子の男女二人連れと、幾度もすれちがう。この中で、どれほどの人たちが、いま一緒にいる相手のことを、この人しかいないと信じられているのだろうか。
This is a line from 「私の男」by 桜庭一樹著
When I searched for the translation online, I found this one
I wondered how many of ...
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102 views
Combining passive and potential form, natural?
これから一生妹さんに食われ続けられる？
I found this sentence in an anime and it raised some questions about combining the potential and passive form. The meaning here is literal, her sister is a monster and she needs ...
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1answer
145 views
Ambiguity between potential causative and passive causative
I have this thought from time to time when I am trying to express an English thought in Japanese. Perhaps the sentence itself is unnatural so let me know.
It seems like we can make him come (to a ...
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1answer
94 views
How does the に particle work here? (にでき） [duplicate]
愛にできること. I am so confused for the usage of the particle に here. This would translate to "things love can do", right? But I've always thought に marks the noun before it, and the action would ...
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1answer
276 views
Is 売られる the potential form of 売る?
I came across this sentence:
米はキロ単位で売られる。
The translation given was "Rice is sold by the kilogram." I assume that 売られる's meaning is more like "is sold" or "to be sold" ...
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2answers
155 views
Can a potential verb be used with ながら meaning during/while?
The following sentence was from a group chat, and I felt like the usage of ながら here was a bit odd:
歩きながらメッセージを送れない。
I can't send messages while I'm walking.
I felt it was odd as I always assumed ...
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1answer
110 views
Distinguishing polite form and potential form in speech
Not sure if this question is opinion based, but I think it's worth trying to ask.
Can native/fluent speakers easily distinguish the sound difference between the polite and potential forms of a verb in ...
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1answer
108 views
Potential form and ～限り
映画が好きなので、時間とお金が（ ）かぎり見に行っている。
I haven't been able to find a satisfactory answer as to why 許す in plain dictionary form works better here than 許せる, the potential form.
動詞につく場合は、ている形や可能動詞などにつくことが多い。
...
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0answers
42 views
僕が強くならなきゃ from 月の大きさ song [duplicate]
I believe that it means I have to become strong but I don't really know how the grammar works in the sentence. I know it's using 強い and I guess なる in potencial form
Pleas explain to me how this works
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1answer
150 views
Transitive, Intransitive and Potential Verbs
Do all tadoshi verbs have a jidoushi verb to pair with?
How do you differentiate volitional and non-volitional form verbs? Do we categorise them like we do for jidoshi (intransitive form) eg. Action ...
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1answer
96 views
~ていられる - present progressive and potential?
This a line from "good morning call"
その横で平気な顔していられるか？
Next to that can you wear a cool face ?
How would one explain ~て いる in its potential form ~て いられる ?
I understand it as "Next to ...
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1answer
71 views
には agent or object of the potential form?
This sentence is translated as: "In the end I could never beat him, not even once" by JTest4You
結局彼には、一度も勝てなかった
So the agent in I which is assumed here. But I was under the impression that ...
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2answers
220 views
Did the られる potential form come from 得る?
One of the shows I've been watching lately kept using some more classical forms of Japanese for style purposes, that I was not too familiar with ; this led me to notice how 得る{える} was often used as an ...
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1answer
141 views
Potential form of 言う - 言える - an ichidan verb?
The potential form of the godan verb [言]{い}う is [言]{い}える. I searched [言]{い}える in an online dictionary today, but it listed [言]{い}える, the potential form, as an ichidan verb.
It even gave a conjugation ...
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0answers
83 views
Does/Can the "standalone" 来る have a passive form in Japanese? [duplicate]
Due to my dictionary 来られる would be the passive as well as potential form.
Potential form is clear: 来られる? -> Can you come?
But I have great trouble imagining a sentence of 来られる in the passive ...
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1answer
75 views
The 「上がれる」 in this sentence
Taken from 「イエスタデイをうたって２」
Context: One guy wants to visit a female friend (who he barely knows) while she is sick. This is their conversation when he suddenly stops before entering her house:
「...
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1answer
331 views
About the specific difference between 見えます and 見られます
I have a question about the specific usage of 見えます and 見られます.
As already explained on the net, 見えます is used when something is visible to the speaker or comes into view. 見られます is used instead, when ...
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1answer
288 views
Why is the potential form of 滑る 滑れる and not 滑られる？
For る-verbs we usually drop る and replace it with られる but I noticed this exception?
2
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1answer
123 views
Meaning of verb + つもりも + potential verb + 程
In a letter by a mangaka at the end of a manga, I encountered the following sentence:
〝正しいこと〟なんて描くつもりも描ける程、自分を上等とも思っていないけど〝つまらないこと〟だけはしないようにしていきたいなって思います
Is verb + つもりも + potential verb + 程 a ...
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1answer
105 views
What’s the difference between “書けるか” and “書けますか“?
What’s the difference between “書けるか“ and “書けますか” (Can you write?). I read the rule for the potential form, but then in an example it said ます on the end instead of る. So do both work and what’s the ...
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1answer
184 views
「から」 and the potential form in 「～ことから～言える」
The entire sentence was:
この種の文は、次に示すように、いくつかの属性を並立させて記述することができることからも記述文であると言える。
「～ことからも～言える」 here means something like "judging from this fact, it can be said that..." or "based on this fact, it ...
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1answer
266 views
Potential verbs with and without ようになる
According to http://www.guidetojapanese.org/surunaru.html:
Since potential verbs describe a state of feasibility rather than an
action [...] it is [sic] often used in conjunction with 「～ようになる」 to ...
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0answers
174 views
Can someone explain to me how "としまして" is formed?
Could someone help me by explaining how this is formed?
The question here refers to an answer to my question (second comment on answer), but I don't understand it:
Could someone help with the ...
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1answer
244 views
Potential forms of verbs that have gained a spontaneous meaning (e.g., 泣ける)
English
I was thinking about the word 泣ける and how it has a usage where it's not really a potential — in particular its usage where it gets used to mean something was moving and caused the speaker to ...
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1answer
177 views
Distinguish between homonyms & potential form
How can you distinguish two verbs when the dictionary form of one is exactly the same as the "potential" form of another. E.g:
開く [Godan verb with ku ending, intransitive verb] (Potential form: 開ける)...
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1answer
348 views
Meaning of もてり and use of が
白き布 もて盤上を 磨きたり 人は心に 鏡をもてり。
Is もてり 持てる？ If so, in that case why does a potential verb have the が particle?
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2answers
122 views
Difference between using ていない/ている and just ない/る when used with potential (られる) form
I was surfing online for Japanese articles and chanced upon this sentence:
初めて飛行機に乗ったうちの子どもは静かに座っていられませんでした
which translates to:
my child who sat on a plane for the first time, couldn't sit quietly.
...
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1answer
136 views
誰も + potential verb form
I'm pretty sure "誰にも読めない本" is correct. However, I have also heard something in the same vein as "誰も読めない本", without the に. Is this also correct?
If so, does も replace が here?
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が in the expression "耳が聞こえない"
I tried to translate this phrase literally and came up with "(My) ears can't hear". Since the expression means "(I'm) deaf", this makes sense.
However, I can't really get it to work grammatically, ...
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1answer
144 views
Combination of causative-passive and intransive verb with a direct object?
I am struggling to understand this sentence’s structure:
宿題を時間内に終わらせられなかった。
I think I get the idea of causative-passive as in “I was being made to finish the homework”. However, I noticed that we ...
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1answer
142 views
Why can には here ONLY mean にとっては?
日本人には________かもしれないが、私たち外国人にとっては、_________はとても大変なことです。
So I answered the first blank with 漢字が簡単に書ける and the second one with 漢字を書くの.
My Japanese teacher, who is a native, told me that it should be ...
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0answers
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Why is this sentence using が here? [duplicate]
娘が一人で服が着られるようになった。
着る is supposed to take を but it's using が here. Why?
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1answer
114 views
Why is there を coupled with potential form?
For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/web_tokushu/2018_1130.html?utm_int=news_contents_tokushu_002
The sentence in question:
その後、適切なケアを受けられないと、「次の子どもを愛せない」など深刻なケースにつながることが分かってきました。
My ...
0
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1answer
181 views
ていい after potential form
I was listening to the song 命に嫌われている and came across the following lyrics:
寂しいなんて言葉でこの傷が表せていいものか
そんな意地ばかり抱え今日も一人ベッドに眠る
I don’t understand what ていい is doing here. An attempt at a direct ...
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1answer
126 views
is 持てる potential form or continuous tense
I am learning japanese grammar via Tae Kim (http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar). I read that to change a u-verb to potential form, replace the -u ending with a -e ending and add -ru. For ...
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2answers
365 views
Two questions about "can"
If 食べれる means "can eat", 食べれます means the same but polite, and 食べれません means "can not eat" but in its polite form, how do I say "can not eat" in the nonpolite form?
Another little question: how can I ...
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2answers
232 views
Why would you use 見えます instead of 見ます?
In the song イドラサーカス sung by 鏡音{かがみね}リン, there is the line, 「青{あお}い空{そら}が汚{よご}れて見{み}えますか？」I translated it using て as the present continuous. "Can you see the blue sky becoming dirty?"
Is my translation ...
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1answer
491 views
Is there a good etymological reason why the potential form in Japanese requires the が particle?
Is there a good etymological reason why the potential form in Japanese requires the が particle?
When dealing with the -たい suffix, which also requires the -が particle for what in other languages would ...
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1answer
444 views
Is there a reason why the passive and the potential form are identical (at least for える/いる verbs)?
Is there a reason why the passive and the potential form in Japanese are identical (at least for える/いる verbs)? I mean, does one etymologically derive from the other? Or were they perhaps modelled on a ...
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1answer
70 views
人間は普通ここに来れんのになあ I Know it means Humans Cannot Come here usually
人間は普通ここに来れんのになあ I Know it means Humans Cannot Come here usually.
but doesn't 来られます Means can come Potential Form But 来れ Then ん Confuses me.
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2answers
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生徒が分かる and 彼が見える and Intransitivity
I have been searching all internet and haven't found an "acceptable" answer for it yet. I hope you guys can help me!
I was reading a text in the website KawaJapa about 分かる and the sentence 日本語が分かる. ...
2
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2answers
243 views
How to use 満足する
A statement by North Korea:
話し合いの結果、韓国と意見が合って満足できた。
The result of the discussions was that we agree with the views of South Korea and are satisfied.
I understand 満足する to mean 'to be satisfied', ...
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1answer
922 views
「たら〜のに」Grammar help!
I've looked up the 「たら〜のに」grammar, and the site says it means "would have/could have" but I'm having trouble with the potential verb 食える. I know it means "can eat" but I don't know the English ...
0
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1answer
139 views
Potential verb + でも: meaning?
The sentence is:
あの 狐ねばばあに 餌付けでも されたか？
餌付け - is a potential form of the verb.
What role is でも playing here?
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2answers
333 views
A question about the particle used with potential form
As I know, when the potential form of a verb is being used, direct object particle "を" should not be used. Instead, が or は should be used. So when should we use which? For example,
富士山が 登れた
...
4
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1answer
2k views
How can I conjugate a past-potential verb?
The conjugation rules for present-potential and past verb forms are well-documented online, but there doesn't seem to be as much information about past-potential conjugations.
If we can conjugate the ...
2
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3answers
223 views
What is the difference between できる and 能う?
能う is translated as being able to do something or having capability to do something. How is its meaning and usage different from できる and potential form of a verb?
3
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1answer
268 views
What is this 連用形+ゆる grammar? How is it different from the potential form?
I have come across this grammar a lot lately:
連用形+ゆる
For example, in this comment,
文語と現代語を交じたる文はインターネットで見ゆるなあ
I've also heard しゆる. Judging from the context I think that this grammar is similar ...
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1answer
79 views
Potential following の that follows a noun
顔の見えない誰かに...
I wonder how this is translated as '(to) someone that cannot see their faces'.
I thought at first that 見えない誰か, as a modified noun, is connected to 顔 with の to mean 'someone that cannot ...