In addition to ‘
passive’ verbs,
れる and
られる (the auxiliary verbs) are used when expressing 可能(かのう) ‘possibility’.
られる will be attached to the base form of
る-Verbs (the form after る has been removed).
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明日(あした)までに届(とど)けられる?
Can you deliver it by tomorrow? (Natural Japanese, and may express ‘potential’, ‘passivity’, ‘respect’, or ‘spontaneous occurrence’)
-
一人(ひとり)で全部(ぜんぶ)食(た)べられる?
Can you eat all of this on your own? (Natural Japanese, and may express ‘potential’, ‘passivity’, ‘respect’, or ‘spontaneous occurrence’)
A common sight in modern Japanese is ラ抜(ぬ)き言葉(ことば) (words where the ら may be removed, and
れる may be used by itself). However, this is not technically correct Japanese, and may cause confusion in cases where ら is required (with
る-Verbs and
くる, when
られる is expressing ‘passivity’, ‘respect’, or ‘spontaneous occurrence’).
-
トムはすぐに新(あたら)しい文法(ぶんぽう)を覚(おぼ)えれる。
Tom is able to remember new grammar immediately. (Natural Japanese only when expressing ‘potential’, not ‘passivity’, ‘respect’, or ‘spontaneous occurrence’)
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彼(かれ)はなんでも食(た)べれる。
He can eat anything. (Natural Japanese only when expressing ‘potential’, not ‘passivity’, ‘respect’, or ‘spontaneous occurrence’)
For
う-Verbs, they will behave a little differently. Instead of the final kana of the verb changing to an あ sound, and then adding れる (as would be the case with
passive verbs), the final kana of the verb will change to an え sound (る will become れ, う will become え, す will become せ, etc.) before adding る.
-
この歌(うた)は弾(ひ)けますか?
Are you able to play this song?
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この池(いけ)では色々(いろいろ)な魚(さかな)が釣(つ)れます。
You can catch many kinds of fish in this lake.
Interestingly,
する verbs do not have a ‘
potential’ form, and the verb
できる will be used in its place.
ことができる and られる (when used in its ‘potential’ meaning) have exactly the same nuance. However, many people consider ことができる to be slightly more polite.
When using the
potential form, either
を or
が may be used to mark the ‘object’. You will need to be careful though, as this does not apply to
できる, which may only ever use
が.
-
やっとシャワーを浴(あ)びられる!
I can finally take a shower!
-
あなたは何(なに)が食(た)べられるの?
What can you eat?
-
トムは日本語(にほんご)とフランス語(ご)と英語(えいご)を話(はな)すことができる。
Tom is able to speak Japanese, French, and English.