{"id":2127,"date":"2009-11-04T06:28:12","date_gmt":"2009-11-04T08:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/?p=2127"},"modified":"2018-03-18T20:41:17","modified_gmt":"2018-03-18T23:41:17","slug":"koto-ga-dekiru-power-and-not-power-in-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/koto-ga-dekiru-poder-e-nao-poder-em-japones\/","title":{"rendered":"Koto ga dekiru \u2013 Power and not power in Japanese"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"604ea9ec9f03ce20cb5fee53cf49f850\" data-index=\"2\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-0652292147574552\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Ads responsivo Inicio Post CAJap -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0652292147574552\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3298668993\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Get inside and learn more about the <strong>Koto ga dekiru \u2013 Power and not power in Japanese<\/strong>!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The idea of being able and not being able to do something in Japanese can be expressed in various ways, ranging from informal to formal, and passing through verbal expressions and conjugations. At first it seemed quite complicated to me, but after thinking about it for a while, things seem to get clearer and easier to assimilate.<\/p>\n<p>In spite of that, for today, I will comment only on the simplest way of saying what we are capable of doing and what we are not able to accomplish. This shape is known as\u00a0<acronym title=\"koto ga dekiru | power\">\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>.<\/p>\n<h2>Building the expression koto ga dekiru<\/h2>\n<p>To talk about what we can and cannot do in Japanese, let&#039;s use the words\u00a0<acronym title=\"koto ga\">\u3053\u3068\u304c<\/acronym>\u00a0and \u3067\u304d\u308b. Where\u00a0<acronym title=\"koto | thing\">\u3053\u3068<\/acronym>\u00a0is a word that means &quot;thing&quot; or &quot;about something&quot;,\u00a0<acronym title=\"ga\">\u304c<\/acronym>\u00a0is our famous subject particle and\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0is the verb \u201cpower\u201d in Japanese. Together, these words form an expression meaning \u201cto be able to do something\u201d, \u201cto be able or have the ability to do something\u201d, \u201cto be able to do it\u201d or simply \u201cto be able to\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>We must be extra careful when reading texts in Japanese, because\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>is usually written in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/hiragana-full-table\/\">hiragana<\/a>, but may appear on your kanji form.\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u51fa\u6765\u308b<\/acronym>informal or in formal mode\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekimasu | power\">\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u3059<\/acronym>.<\/p>\n<h2>How to use the expression koto ga dekiru<\/h2>\n<p>To create sentences with\u00a0<acronym title=\"koto ga dekiru | power\">\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>, just build the sentence normally, but conjugating the verb in its simplest form, known as dictionary form.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to know more about Japanese verbs in dictionary form, I suggest you read the article, \u201c<a title=\"Informal verbs mode in Japanese\" href=\"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/japanese-informal-verbs-mode\/\">Japanese verbs in informal mode<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n<p>Thinking this way we can create the sentence\u00a0<acronym title=\"watashi wa pan the taberu. | I eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0and change its meaning by adding\u00a0<acronym title=\"koto ga dekiru | power\">\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0after the verb. So we will have\u00a0<acronym title=\"watashi wa pan o taberu koto ga dekiru. | I can (have the ability to) eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>.<\/p>\n<p>Optionally you can exchange\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0by its formal mode, or masu form,\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekimasu | power\">\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u3059<\/acronym>, giving greater formality to the sentence. So, the sentence above would be\u00a0<acronym title=\"watashi wa pan o taberu koto ga dekimasu. | I can (have the ability to) eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u3059<\/acronym>.<\/p>\n<p>Note that the sentence pattern is always\u00a0<strong>subject + wa + object + o + verb + koto ga dekiru\/dekimasu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>The past with koto ga dekiru<\/h2>\n<p>In the case above, we found out how to use the expression\u00a0<acronym title=\"koto ga dekiru | power\">\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0in the formal and informal present tense. Now, let&#039;s move on to the other tenses, starting with the affirmative past.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of the tense of the verb in Japanese, we usually only conjugate the verb\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0for the sentence to change tense. In the case of the past, just change\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0per\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekites | could or could\">\u3067\u304d\u305f<\/acronym>, in the informal past, or by\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekimashita | could or could\">\u3067\u304d\u307e\u3057\u305f<\/acronym>\u00a0in the formal past.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><acronym title=\"watashi wa pan o taberu koto ga dekita. | I could (had the ability to) eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3067\u304d\u305f\u3002<\/acronym><br \/>\n<acronym title=\"watashi wa pan o taberu koto ga dekimashita. | I could (had the ability to) eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/acronym><\/p>\n<h2>Koto ga dekiru and the negative present<\/h2>\n<p>Following the same rule, to say that we can do something in the negative present tense, just change the verb\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0per\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekinai | can&#039;t or can&#039;t\">\u3067\u304d\u306a\u3044<\/acronym>, in informal mode, or<acronym title=\"dekimasen | can&#039;t or can&#039;t\">\u3067\u304d\u307e\u305b\u3093<\/acronym>, in formal mode.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><acronym title=\"watashi wa pan o taberu koto ga dekinai. | I cannot (don&#039;t have the ability to) eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3067\u304d\u306a\u3044\u3002<\/acronym><br \/>\n<acronym title=\"watashi wa pan o taberu koto ga dekmasen. | I cannot (don&#039;t have the ability to) eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3002<\/acronym><\/p>\n<h2>The negative past with koto ga dekiru<\/h2>\n<p>The negative past is formed by exchanging\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0per\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekinakatta | couldn&#039;t or couldn&#039;t\">\u3067\u304d\u306a\u304b\u3063\u305f<\/acronym>, in informal mode, or\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekimasen deshita | couldn&#039;t or couldn&#039;t\">\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3067\u3057\u305f<\/acronym>, in formal mode.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><acronym title=\"watashi wa pan o taberu koto ga dekinakatta | I could not (did not have the ability to) eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3067\u304d\u306a\u304b\u3063\u305f\u3002<\/acronym><br \/>\n<acronym title=\"watashi wa pan o taberu koto ga dekimasen deshita | I could not (did not have the ability to) eat bread.\">\u79c1\u306f\u30d1\u30f3\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/acronym><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Dekiru and phrases with the verb suru<\/h2>\n<p>I found it very interesting when I discovered that sentences composed by the verb\u00a0<acronym title=\"suru | do\">\u3059\u308b<\/acronym>, may change direction when we switch\u00a0<acronym title=\"suru | do\">\u3059\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0per\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>. In these cases, the meaning of the phrase usually changes from \u201cdoing\u201d to \u201cbeing able to do\u201d, \u201cknowing how to do\u201d or something like that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong><br \/>\n<acronym title=\"kanojo wa hikouki o soujou suru | She pilots the plane.\">\u5f7c\u5973\u306f\u98db\u884c\u6a5f\u3092\u64cd\u7e26\u3059\u308b<\/acronym><br \/>\n<acronym title=\"kanojo wa hikouki o soujou dekiru | She manages (to be able) to fly the plane.\">\u5f7c\u5973\u306f\u98db\u884c\u6a5f\u3092\u64cd\u7e26\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym><\/p>\n<h2>Using dekiru in short sentences<\/h2>\n<p>In some short sentences, we can use the verb\u00a0<acronym title=\"dekiru | power\">\u3067\u304d\u308b<\/acronym>\u00a0right after the noun, making use of the particle\u00a0<acronym title=\"ga\">\u304c<\/acronym>. Check it out:<\/p>\n<p><acronym title=\"tanaka-san wa nihongo ga dekimasu | Mr Tanaka can (can) speak Japanese.\">\u7530\u4e2d\u3055\u3093\u306f\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u304c\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/acronym><br \/>\n<acronym title=\"boku wa gitaa ga dekinai | I can&#039;t play guitar.\">\u50d5\u306f\u30ae\u30bf\u30fc\u304c\u3067\u304d\u306a\u3044\u3002<\/acronym><\/p>\n<h2>Kanji calligraphy exercise<\/h2>\n<p>Below are the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/how-to-write-japanese-letter-kanjis\/\">Japanese ideographic symbols<\/a>\u00a0used in this article. Selecting the desired kanji, copy and paste them into\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/in\/imprimir-para-treinar-kanas-e-kanjis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Worksheet for Kana and Kanji Practice<\/a>\u00a0, a new window will open where you can view the printable file and practice Japanese calligraphy by covering the gray symbols and then trying to write yourself. Just print and practice.<\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 122px\" border=\"0\" width=\"389\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"2\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u51fa<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u6765<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u98df<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u5f7c<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u5973<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u98db<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u884c<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u6a5f<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u64cd<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u7e26<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u7530<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u4e2d<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u65e5<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u672c<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u8a9e<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\u50d5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stay in the loop and learn more about Koto ga dekiru \u2013 Power and no power in Japanese! The idea of being able and not being able to do something in Japanese can be expressed in many ways,<\/p>","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":2128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,70,73],"tags":[69,2,3],"class_list":["post-2127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-curso-de-japones-gratis","category-gramatica-japonesa","category-verbos-em-japones","tag-curso-japones-gratis","tag-idioma-japones","tag-nihongo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/koto-ga-dekiru-poder-e-nao-poder-em-japones.png?fit=500%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comoaprenderjapones.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}