Understanding the Japanese Potential Form
In Japanese, the potential form is used to express the ability or possibility to do something. It's like saying 'can' or 'able to' in English. Let's learn how to use it!
How to Form the Potential Form
Important Points
- For Group 1 verbs (also known as Godan verbs), change the -u ending to -eru.
- For Group 2 verbs (also known as Ichidan verbs), change the -ru ending to -rareru.
- Irregular verbs have special changes: 'する' becomes 'できる' and 'くる' becomes 'こられる'.
Now that we know how to change the verbs, let's look at some examples to see how they work in sentences.
Examples
- 食べる (たべる) -> 食べられる (たべられる)
- 書く (かく) -> 書ける (かける)
- する -> できる
Using Potential Form in Sentences
When you use the potential form, you are talking about what someone can do. Let's see how we can use it in sentences.
Examples
- 私は日本語を話せる。 (I can speak Japanese.)
- 彼はピアノを弾ける。 (He can play the piano.)
- 彼女は早く走れる。 (She can run fast.)
Now you know how to use the potential form in Japanese! Practice by thinking of things you can do and try to say them in Japanese.