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dekiru and -rareru : When you have the basics down, expanding your vocabulary and learning new sentences/phrases is the next step. For this blog, we will focus on how to talk about expressing ability and potential by learning about two(or three) new, very useful phrases. Strap in, and get ready to learn TODAY!

dekiru and -rareru : Expressing ability and inability in Japanese

For people who plan on going to Japan for a holiday, these phrases are quite useful! Talking about ability in a foreign country is one of the most useful things to learn. This can be applied to questions about the ability to speak a language, ability to read something, things you can and cannot eat, and so much more! Honestly, it can be used in important occasions, so make sure you utilize and study these phrases appropriately!

Verb(casual form) + koto ga dekiru

Firstly, let’s talk about the main sentence pattern we use for a sentence that talks about an action. We usually use the Noun + verb pattern for it as shown below. 

私は寿司を食べます。

Watashi wa sushi wo tabemasu.

I eat sushi.

This sentence pattern expresses an action but doesn’t necessarily talk about the ability to do so. The sentence/phrase we are about to discuss will be talking about the ability or capacity to do something. Here is the same sentence using ーことができる, changing the sentence meaning to being able to do the action. We simply take the verb in it’s casual form (in this case 食べます/tabemasu＝食べる/taberu）and add ーことができる/-koto ga dekiru after. If you want to sound a bit more formal, you can use ーことができます/-koto ga dekimasu instead. This will act as the end of your sentence.

私は寿司を食べることができる。

Watashi wa sushi wo taberu koto ga dekiru.

I CAN eat sushi.

Lets focus on the same sentence and try expressing the inability to do something. In this situation, let’s say you are a vegetarian and therefore cannot eat sushi. When trying to express the inability to do something, we simply take the verb in it’s casual form (in this case 食べます/tabemasu＝食べる/taberu) again and add ーことができない/-koto ga dekinai after and might also signify the end of your sentence. To sound a bit more formal, you can use ーことができません/-koto ga dekimasen instead. Here is the same sentence again but this time, we will express the inability to do the verb.

私は寿司を食べることができない。

Watashi wa sushi wo taberu koto ga dekinai.

I CANNOT eat sushi.

In the situation where you want to talk in past tense, the usual rules apply where できる(dekiru)ー＞できた(dekita)、できます(dekimasu)ー＞できました(dekimashita)、できない(dekinai)ー＞できなかった(dekinakatta)、できません(dekimasen)ー＞できませんでした(dekimasendeshita)。Here is the same sentence as above, but talking about it in the past tense. 

私は寿司を食べることができた。

Watashi wa sushi wo taberu koto ga dekita.

I WAS ABLE TO eat sushi.

Here are a few more examples of sentences that talk about the ability to do verbs in their respective sentences.

Expressing potential by using the可能形 (kanokei) form

For this sentence/phrase, it can both talk about the potential and ability to do a verb. It’s not as straightforward as the sentence pattern above, but as long as you follow the rules below, you will be able to use it in no time. Be sure to practice!

Use GA instead of WO

Before we start with the verb rules, always remember that when you are talking about potential, you would need to use ga instead of wo to connect your verb and noun. 

私は寿司が食べられる。

Watashi wa sushi ga taberareru.

I CAN eat sushi.

Group 1 verb rule (Verb u -> Verb eru )

As you can see from the title above, it’s a verb that ends with an -u sound in its casual form and you simply change the -u to -eru. Here are a few examples:

Group 2 verb rule ( Verb ru -> Verb rareru)

From the title above again, its a verb that ends with a -ru sound in its casual form and we just change it the -ru to rareru. Here are a few examples:

Irregular verbs

There are only two irregular verbs so just memorise it!

Asking about ability and potential

Ability: Verb(casual form) + koto ga dekimasu + ka ?

This is a very good sentence to ask people for importance and also for casual conversations. It’s also quite easy to do because you just add -ka to our original sentence to make it a question! Let’s use the sentence above as a reference, yet again.

寿司を食べることができますか？

Sushi wo taberu koto ga dekimasu ka?

Can (you) eat sushi?

For past tense questions, the same rules apply where できる(dekiru)ー＞できた(dekita)、できます(dekimasu)ー＞できました(dekimashita)、できない(dekinai)ー＞できなかった(dekinakatta)、できません(dekimasen)ー＞できませんでした(dekimasendeshita) and just add a -ka at the end to make it a question. 

寿司を食べることができましたか？

Sushi wo taberu koto ga dekimashitaka?

Were you able to eat sushi?

Potential: Verb potential form (formal) + ka?

This is also quite easy to do because you just follow the formula above to make a sentence! 

寿司が食べられますか？

Sushi ga taberaremasuka?

CAN (you) eat sushi?

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