Lesson 15
1. Top
2. Kanji in Lesson 15
3. たんご
4. 会話
5. ぶんぽう
1. Potential Forms of V
2. Conditional なら
3. Listing with …し…し
4. Vてみる: Try V-ing...
5. …そうだ: Inferences ...
6. れんしゅう
1

Potential Forms of Verbs
The potential form of a Japanese verb expresses that someone can do something or that something is possible under the circumstances. It often corresponds to can + verb, be able to + verb, or it is possible to + verb in English.
  • 日本語を話します。 I speak Japanese.
  • 日本語が話せます。 I can speak Japanese.
  • ここでコンピュータを使います。 I use a computer here.
  • ここでコンピュータが使えます。 You can use a computer here. / Computers can be used here.
The three classes of verbs (る-verbs, う-verbs, and irregular verbs) form their potential forms differently.

る-Verbs

For る-Verbs, drop る and add られる.
Table 1. Potential Form of る-Verbs
Drop る and add られる
たべる： たべる＋られる ⇒ たべられる can eat
おきる： おきる＋られる ⇒ おきられる can wake up
ねる： ねる＋られる ⇒ ねられる can sleep
In conversational Japanese, many speakers use a shorter form by dropping ら and adding れる instead:
  • たべる → たべれる
  • おきる → おきれる
  • ねる → ねれる

う-Verbs

For う-verbs, change the final /u/ vowel of the plain form to /e/ and add る. You can also think of this as changing the /i/ vowel of the ます-stem to /e/ and adding る.
Table 2. Potential Form of う-Verbs
Change the final /u/ sound to /e/ and add る
のむ (nomu) or のみます (nomi-) のめ (nome) + る can drink
かう (kau) or かいます (kai-) かえ (kae) + る can buy
いく (iku) or いきます (iki-) いけ (ike) + る can go
はなす (hanasu) or はなします (hanashi-) はなせ (hanase) + る can speak
とる (toru) or とります (tori-) とれ (tore) + る can take
およぐ (oyogu) or およぎます (oyogi-) およげ (oyoge) + る can swim
まつ(matsu) or まちます (machi-) まて (mate) + る can wait

Irregular Verbs

The two irregular verbs have the following potential forms:
  • する → できる　 can do
  • くる → こられる　 can come
The shorter form これる is also heard in conversational Japanese.

Potential Verbs Conjugate as る-Verbs

Once a verb has been changed into its potential form, the resulting potential verb conjugates as a る-verb, regardless of the original verb type.
  する ⇒ できる おきる ⇒ おきられる よむ ⇒ よめる
　Nonpast affirmative できる おきられる よめる
　Nonpast negative できない おきられない よめない
　Past affirmative できた おきられた よめた
　Past negative できなかった おきられなかった よめなかった　
　Vて form できて おきられて よめて

Notice that よむ is originally an う-verb, but its potential form よめる conjugates as a る-verb:

  • よめる → よめない → よめた → よめなかった → よめて

を and が with Potential Verbs

When a transitive verb is changed into its potential form, the object normally marked by を can often be marked by either が or を.
  • 日本語を話す 　speak Japanese → 日本語が話せる 　can speak Japanese → 日本語を話せる 　can speak Japanese
  • かんじを書く 　write kanji → かんじが書ける 　can write Japanese → かんじを書ける 　can write Japanese
Both が and を are used with many potential verbs in contemporary Japanese. The choice can be affected by sentence structure, emphasis, and style.　There is an important exception with できる. The thing that one can do is normally marked by が, not を:
  • テニスをする 　play tennis → テニスができる 　can play tennis ✽ テニスをできる　　[Ungrammatical]

Expressing Someone's Ability

Potential verbs can describe a person's ability to perform an action.
  • A: 山田さん、えいごはどう？ 　　Yamada, how is your English?
  • B: 少し話せるけど。 　　I can speak a little.
  • A: スミスさん、なっとうが食べられるのね。すごいわね。 　　Smith, you can eat natto! That's impressive.
  • B: なっとうはだいじょうぶだけど、うには食べられないんだ。 　　Natto is okay, but I can't eat sea urchin.
Notice that 食べられる here does not necessarily mean that eating the food is physically possible. Depending on the context, it can mean that someone is able/willing to eat it or that the food is acceptable to that person.

Expressing What Is Possible or Allowed

Potential verbs are not limited to personal skills or abilities. They can also describe what is possible, available, or permitted in a particular situation.
  • A: コンピュータをつかいたいんだけど、どこかにつかえるところないかな。 　　I'd like to use a computer. Is there somewhere I can use one?
  • B: としょかんのコンピュータ・クラスターでつかえるよ。 　　You can use one at the computer cluster in the library.
One more example:
  • A: ぼくのともだちでも CRCでおよげるの？ テックの学生じゃないけど。 　　Can my friend swim at the CRC, too? He's not a Tech student.
  • B: さあ、わからないなあ。 　　I'm not sure.
Here, およげる concerns permission or eligibility rather than the friend's physical ability to swim.

Which Verbs Can Have Potential Forms?

Potential forms are normally associated with volitional actions—actions that someone can intentionally perform. Some verbs describe states, spontaneous processes, or events that are not directly controlled by a person. Such verbs normally do not have potential forms. For example, わかる means "to understand." Japanese treats understanding as a state or a process that occurs rather than as an action that a person deliberately performs. Therefore, わかる itself already expresses whether something is understandable to someone:

  • 日本語がわかります。 　　I understand Japanese.

It does not normally have a potential form:

  • ✽ 日本語がわかれます。 [Ungrammatical]

Similarly, ある ("to exist; there is") normally has no potential form. One useful way to recognize this distinction is to ask whether the verb can naturally describe an intentional action. For example:

  • はなす → はなせる: speak → can speak
  • およぐ → およげる: swim → can swim
  • かく → かける: write → can write
These are actions a person can intentionally attempt to perform. By contrast, verbs such as わかる ("understand") and ある ("exist") describe states or occurrences rather than intentional actions. Potential forms are therefore generally not used with them.

FYI: 見える／見られる and 聞こえる／聞ける

The verbs 見る and 聞く have an important distinction between two types of expressions. 見える and 聞こえる describe something that is naturally visible or audible—that is, something that enters one's sight or hearing without emphasizing an intentional act.
  • ここから、富士山(ふじさん)が見えます。 Mt. Fuji is visible from here. / You can see Mt. Fuji from here.
  • しずかだから、鳥(とり)のこえが聞こえます。 It's quiet, so I can hear the birds.
By contrast, 見られる and 聞ける are the potential forms of 見る and 聞く. They describe someone's ability, opportunity, or permission to intentionally see/watch or listen to something.
  • こどもはRの映画(えいが)は見られません。でも、PG-13は見られるでしょう。 Children cannot watch R-rated movies, but they can probably watch PG-13 movies.
  • 古いカーステレオではCDは聞けますけど、MP3は聞けませんね。 You can listen to CDs on an old car stereo, but you can't listen to MP3s.
Compare:
  • 富士山(ふじさん)が見える。 Mt. Fuji is visible./I can see Mt. Fuji.
  • このホテルの屋上から富士山が見られる。 You can view Mt. Fuji from the rooftop of this hotel.
2
 Conditional なら: If...

The conditional connective なら presents a condition based on information that is already known, assumed, or introduced in the context. It can often be understood as “if it is the case that…”, “if you mean…”, or simply “if…” in English. The basic pattern is:

  • S1 なら、S2 If it is the case that S1, (then) S2.

The condition in S1 provides the basis or circumstance for what is stated in S2.

Forms before なら

A plain form normally precedes なら. However, with nouns and な-adjectives in the nonpast affirmative, the copula だ is omitted before なら(✅). The past copula だった is not omitted.
Table 3. Conditional Connective なら
  Plain Form なら　  
い-Adj. いい よくない よかった よくなかった なら　 If it is okay If it is not okay If it was okay If it was not okay
な-Adj. ゆうめい ✅ ゆうめいじゃない ゆうめいだった ゆうめいじゃなかった なら If it is famous If it is not famous If it was famous If it was not famous
Noun 雨(あめ) ✅ 雨じゃない 雨だった 雨じゃなかった なら If it is rainy If it is not rainy If it was rainy If it was not rainy
Verb 来(く)る 来(こ)ない 来(き)た 来(こ)なかった なら If (someone) comes If (someone) does not come If (someone) came If (someone) did not come
Examples:
  • やすいなら買いますけど、高いなら買いません。 If it's cheap, I'll buy it, but if it's expensive, I won't.
Here, whether something is cheap or expensive provides the condition for the speaker's decision.
  • あした、ひまなら、いっしょにえいがを見に行きませんか。 If you're free tomorrow, would you like to go see a movie together?
  • 午前９時から午後３時までなら働(はたら)けます。 If it's from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., I can work.
In this example, なら can attach directly to the time range 午前９時から午後３時まで. The speaker presents that particular time range as an acceptable condition: “If you mean 9 to 3 / If it's 9 to 3, I can work.”
  • きのうまで病気だったなら、今日しゅくだいを出さなくてもいいですよ。 If it is the case that you were sick until yesterday, you don't have to turn in the homework today.
The condition expressed with なら does not have to refer to a future event. It can also refer to a past situation when that situation provides the basis for what the speaker says now.

Responding to Information with なら

A particularly common use of なら is to take something another person has just said and use it as the basis for a response, such as a suggestion, recommendation, judgment, or decision.
  • A: コンピュータを買いたいんです。 　　I want to buy a computer.
  • B: コンピュータを買いたいなら、ノートパソコンがいいですよ。 　　If you're going to buy a computer, a laptop would be good.
Speaker B takes A's statement コンピュータを買いたい and turns it into a condition: “If that's the case—if you want to buy a computer—then…”
  • A: 日本語のせいせきがわるかったんです。 　　My Japanese grade was bad.
  • B: 日本語のせいせきがわるかったなら、オフィスアワーに来たほうがいいですよ。 　　If your Japanese grade was bad, you should come to my office hours.
Again, Speaker B uses information supplied by Speaker A as the basis for giving advice. Thus, なら is especially useful when the speaker is responding to a situation or information already established in the conversation:
  • “If that is the case, then…”
3

Listing Parallel Facts and Actions: …し…し

The connective し is used to list two or more facts, states, or actions that are presented together. Unlike a sequence of て-forms, し does not indicate the order in which the actions occurred. It often adds a sense of “and,” “and also,” “and what's more,” or “not only that.” The …し…し pattern is especially common in conversation and informal writing.

⚠Style Caution: Do Not Overuse し in Formal Writing

Because し has a strong conversational function of adding one point after another, repeated use of …し…し can sound loose or overly conversational in formal writing. In technical or scientific writing, formal reports, news articles, and other contexts where ideas need to be organized precisely, overusing し may give the reader the impression that the writer is simply piling up facts rather than clearly showing how they are logically related. This does not mean that し is grammatically incorrect in written Japanese. Rather, its appropriateness depends on the register and purpose of the text. In formal writing, consider whether a more precise expression of sequence, addition, contrast, cause, or result would better show the relationship between the ideas.

As a general guideline:

  • Conversation / informal writing: …し…し is very natural for listing related points.
  • Formal / technical writing: Use …し…し selectively, and avoid relying on it as a general-purpose way to connect sentences and ideas.

Compare:

  • 朝おきて、はをみがきました。 I got up in the morning and (then) brushed my teeth.

When the て-form connects actions performed by the same person, the actions are often understood as occurring in sequence: first I got up, and then I brushed my teeth. With し, however, the speaker is simply listing things that are true or that happened:

  • ニューヨークではブロードウェーのショーも見たし、NBCスタジオにも行ったし、 びじゅつかんにも行きました。 In New York, I saw a Broadway show, went to the NBC Studio, and also went to a museum.
The speaker is listing several things that happened in New York. し does not indicate the order in which they happened.

Forms before し

A plain form normally precedes し.

Table 4. Parallel Listing し
  Plain Form し　
い-Adjective いい
よくない
よかった
よくなかった		 し　
な-Adjective ゆうめいだ
ゆうめいじゃない
ゆうめいだった
ゆうめいじゃなかった		 し
Noun 雨だ
雨じゃない
雨だった
雨じゃなかった		 し
Verb 来る
来ない
来た
来なかった		 し

Listing Facts, States, and Actions

Examples:
  • 弟はさかながきらいだし、やさいも食べません。 My younger brother doesn't like fish, and what's more, he doesn't eat vegetables, either.
  • 日本では、あきはばらに行きたいし、ふじさんにものぼりたいです。 In Japan, I want to go to Akihabara, and I also want to climb Mt. Fuji.

The items connected by し do not have to be actions. They may be qualities, states, opinions, desires, or other facts that the speaker wants to present together. The particles も (“also; too”) and し frequently occur together because both contribute to the sense of adding another item:

  • ブロードウェーのショーも見たし、びじゅつかんにも行った。 I saw a Broadway show, and I also went to a museum.

Listing Facts before a Conclusion

The ～し～し pattern is also commonly used to list several facts or circumstances before giving a conclusion, judgment, decision, or opinion.
  • ニューヨークではブロードウェーのショーも見たし、 びじゅつかんにも行ったし、 楽(たの)しかったです。 In New York, I saw a Broadway show and went to a museum, and I had a good time.
Here, the first two clauses list experiences that contribute to the speaker's overall conclusion, 楽しかったです.
  • 今日はさむいし、雨もふっているし、あまり出かけたくない。 It's cold today, and it's raining, too, so I don't really want to go out.
In this example, さむい and 雨がふっている are not merely two facts being listed. Together, they also provide background reasons for the speaker's conclusion that they do not want to go out.

…し…し vs. …から

When し lists circumstances before a conclusion, a cause-and-effect relationship may be implied, but し itself does not explicitly mean “because.” The speaker presents several relevant facts and lets them collectively support the conclusion.
  • 今日はさむいし、雨もふっているし、あまり出かけたくない。 It's cold today, and it's raining, too, so I don't really want to go out.
If the final し is replaced with から, the reason → result relationship becomes more explicit:
  • 今日はさむいし、雨もふっているから、あまり出かけたくない。 It's cold today, and it's raining, too, so that's why I don't really want to go out.
Compare the structures:
  • さむいし ＋ 雨もふっているし → conclusion Several relevant circumstances are listed, leading naturally to a conclusion.
  • さむいし ＋ 雨もふっているから → result The listed circumstances are explicitly presented as the reason for the result.
Thus, し is useful when the speaker wants to accumulate several facts or reasons, rather than present one of them as a direct “because X, therefore Y” relationship.
4

Vてみる: Try V-ing and See

The expression Vてみる means to do something and see what it is like, what happens, or what the result will be. It is often translated as “try V-ing,” “try to V,” or “V and see.” The verb みる in this expression comes from 見る (“to see”), but Vてみる functions as a unit meaning to perform an action experimentally or for the purpose of finding something out.

Vて みる  
食べて みる try eating it; eat it to see (what it's like)
やって or して みる try doing it; do it and see what happens
きて みる try wearing it to see (what it's like); try it on　
つかって みる try using it; use it and see how it works
見て みる try looking at it; take a look and see

Vてみる vs. English “try to V”

Although Vてみる is often translated as “try to V,” the two expressions do not have exactly the same meaning. Vてみる normally implies that the action V is actually initiated or performed. The purpose is to experience it or find out what happens. For example:

  • てんぷらをつくってみた。 I tried making tempura. / I made tempura to see how it would turn out.

This means that the speaker actually made tempura. Whether the tempura turned out well is a separate question. English “try to V,” on the other hand, can mean make an attempt to accomplish V, and the action itself may never actually take place.

  • I tried to call you, but I was too busy.
Here, “try to call” could mean that the speaker intended or attempted to make the call but never actually called. Japanese 電話してみた, however, means that the speaker actually tried making the call in order to see what would happen—for example, whether the person would answer:
  • 電話してみたけど、だれも出なかった。 I tried calling, but nobody answered.
Therefore, a sentence such as the following is contradictory:
  • 電話してみたけど、いそがしくて電話できなかった。 I tried calling, but I was too busy to make the call.

電話してみた indicates that the calling action was initiated, while 電話できなかった in this context says that the speaker did not manage to make the call. A useful way to understand Vてみる is therefore: Do V → see what happens / what it is like rather than simply: Attempt to V.

More examples:

  • 日本に行ってみたい。 I would like to go to Japan and see what it is like.

Here, 行ってみたい expresses a desire to have the experience of going to Japan, not merely a desire to attempt to get there.

  • 先生に話してみましょう。 Let's talk to the teacher and see what he/she says.
  • この薬を飲んでみたほうがいいですよ。 You should try taking this medicine (and see if it helps).
  • わしょくだから、はしを使ってみませんか。 Since it's Japanese food, why don't you try using chopsticks?

The “and see” meaning does not always need to be explicitly translated into English. Depending on the context, English try, try out, try on, or another natural expression may convey the same idea.

Translating into Japanese

  • I wanted to take a Japanese bath (and see what it was like). ⇒
  • I tried wearing a kimono, but I couldn't put it on properly. ⇒

Notice that there is no contradiction here. 着てみました indicates that the speaker actually attempted the process of putting on the kimono. 上手に着られませんでした indicates that the result was unsuccessful—the speaker could not put it on properly.

  • I tried making tempura, and it turned out well. ⇒
  • Would you like to try some green tea? ⇒
  • May I try these shoes on?⇒
5

…そうだ: Inferences Based on Appearance
The pattern …そうだ expresses the speaker's judgment based on how something looks or appears at the moment. With verbs, it often expresses that an event looks likely or about to happen. Depending on the context, …そうだ can be translated as “looks…,” “looks like…,” “appears…,” “seems likely to…,” or “looks as if … is going to…”
  • このケーキはおいしそうです。 This cake looks delicious.
  • 雨がふりそうです。 It looks like it's going to rain.

The judgment is typically based on something the speaker can directly observe. For example, the cake may look delicious because of its appearance, and the speaker may say 雨がふりそうだ after looking at dark clouds.

How to Form …そうだ

For い-adjectives, drop the final い and add そうだ. The ～たい form behaves like an い-adjective in this pattern. For な-adjectives, use the adjective stem without な or だ. For verbs, use the ます-stem (i.e., drop ます).
Table 5. How to Form …そうだ
い-Adj Drop い あつい ⇒ あつ
たかい ⇒ たか
食べたい ⇒ 食べた		 Add そうだ
な-Adj Drop な げんきな ⇒ げんき
しずかな ⇒ しずか
Verb Drop ます ふります (it rains) ⇒ ふり　
よめます (can read) ⇒ よめ
います (someone is located/stays) ⇒ い　

Affirmative Forms

Stem + そうだ expresses that something appears to have a certain quality or that an event appears likely to occur.
Affirmative + そうだ (appears X) 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  
あつそうだ It looks hot.
気分がわるそうだ　 It looks he is feeling sick.
むずかしそうだ It looks difficult.
食べたそうだった She looked she wanted to eat it.
A man appears to be sick.
げんきそうだ He/She looks healthy.
にぎやかそうだ It looks cheerfully noisy.
べんりそうだ It looks convenient.
ひまそうだった He/She looked idle/not-busy.
A boy appears not busy.
ありそうだ It looks like there is...
ふりそうだ It looks like it's going to rain.
読めそうだった It looked like I would be able to read it.
高くなりそうだ It looks like it will become expensive.
Dark clouds in the sky. It looks like it's going to rain.
This pattern does not work for nouns.
Notice an important difference between adjectives and verbs:
  • Adjective + そうだ: something looks as though it has a quality
    • おいしそうだ。 It looks delicious.
  • Verb + そうだ: an action or event looks likely or about to happen
    • 雨がふりそうだ。 It looks like it's going to rain.
    • コップが落(お)ちそうだ。 The glass looks like it's going to fall.

…そうだ Is Not Used Directly with Nouns

This appearance pattern does not normally attach directly to nouns. For example, to say “He looks like a student,” you cannot simply attach そうだ to 学生:

  • ✽ 学生そうだ。 [Ungrammatical]

Other expressions are used when you want to say that someone or something looks like a particular noun (See Lesson 19: みたいだ, Lesson 24:ようだ).

Negative Forms: …なさそうだ

To say that something does not appear to have a quality or that an event does not appear likely to happen, the negative form normally uses ～なさそうだ.
Negative +さ +そうだ (appears not X)
あつくない あつくなさそうだIt does not look hot.
しずかじゃない しずかじゃなさそうだ
It does not look quiet.
With verbs, there is also the pattern Vそうにない:
Negative V + そうにない (does not appear to V)
ふらない ふりそうにない
It does not look like it's going to rain.　
できない できそうにない
It does not look like I'll be able to do it.
Vそうにない generally gives a stronger impression that the event does not appear likely to happen, whereas Vなさそうだ simply presents it as appearing unlikely. Compare:
  • 雨はふらなさそうだ。 It looks like it probably won't rain.
  • 雨はふりそうにない。 It doesn't look like it's going to rain.

Special Forms with いい

The adjective いい is irregular with …そうだ. Use よさそうだ, not✽いさそうだ [Ungrammatical].
いい becomes よさそうだ (not いさそうだ) appears good
よくない becomes よくなさそうだ (not いくなさそうだ） appears not good
does not appear good

…そうな + Noun

A stem + そうだ expression behaves like a な-adjective. When it directly modifies a noun, そうだ changes to そうな.
  • たかそうな ふく: expensive-looking clothes
  • こわそうな 先生: a scary-looking teacher
  • げんきそうな 子ども: a healthy-looking child
  • 雨がふりそうな 天気(てんき): weather that looks like it will bring rain
Thus,
  • このふくは たかそうです。 These clothes look expensive.
  • たかそうなふくです。 They are expensive-looking clothes. an expensive-looking fur coat

…そうに + Predicate

When a stem + そうだ expression modifies a verb or another predicate, そうだ changes to そうに, just as a な-adjective changes to its adverbial form with に.
  • さむそうにしている looks/acts as though he/she is cold
  • たのしそうにはなす talks happily / talks as though he/she is having a good time
  • 食べたそうに見ている is looking at it as though he/she wants to eat ita little girl who is showing the sign of wanting to eat icecream.
The …そうに form describes the apparent manner or state in which an action is performed.

A Caution about English “seem”

English look, seem, and appear cover a wide range of meanings, but Japanese ～そうだ cannot be used for every type of inference expressed by English seem. This pattern is most natural when the speaker's judgment comes from observable signs or appearance. For example:

  • 空(そら)がくらいですね。雨がふりそうです。 The sky is dark. It looks like it's going to rain.

Here, the speaker sees the dark sky and makes a prediction based on that visible evidence. Keep this use of ～そうだ separate from another pattern, plain-form sentence + そうだ　(Lesson 19), which means “I hear that…” / “It is said that…” and reports information received from another source.
L15-Grammar