Japanese Potential Form (Can Do), 〜し and なら (GENKI Lesson 13)
In GENKI Lesson 13, you learn how to say what you can do: speak Japanese, swim, eat spicy food. You also learn two ways to connect ideas: 〜し to give several reasons, and なら to make a suggestion about a topic someone just mentioned.
- The potential form: can do
- Why を often changes to が
- 〜し、〜し: listing reasons
- Noun + なら: if it’s …, then …
Contents
Start with the vocabulary
Let’s learn the key words from this lesson first. You will see them again in the examples below. Say the answer before you flip. Turn the readings off to test yourself.
The potential form: can do
| Verb group | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| う-verbs | last sound → え sound + る | 話す → 話せる、行く → 行けるはなす → はなせる、いく → いける |
| る-verbs | drop る → られる | 食べる → 食べられるたべる → たべられる |
| する | する → できるする → できる | |
| 来る | 来る → 来られるくる → こられる |
Every potential verb is a る-verb, so you conjugate it like 食べる: 話せます, 話せない, 話せた, 話せて.
The particle often changes to が
With a potential verb, the object is usually marked with が instead of を. Other particles (に, で …) don’t change.
In everyday speech, many people say 食べれる and 来れる (without ら). You will hear it a lot, but in tests and polite writing, use 食べられる and 来られる.
〜し: listing reasons
し lists reasons, and suggests there could be more. Put it after the short form. な-adjectives and nouns take だ.
The conclusion can come first, with the reasons after it, like the last example. This is very common in conversation.
なら: if it’s …, then …
Noun + なら picks up a topic the other person just mentioned and adds your comment or suggestion about that.
なら also works with negative ideas: 肉は食べません。— 魚なら食べられますか。 (I don’t eat meat. — How about fish? Can you eat fish?)
Learn more about “if” in Japanese in 〜たら, the most useful “if”.
Final check: 10 questions
These questions mix everything from Lesson 13. Get 8 or more right, and you are ready for the next lesson.
Free worksheet
Want to practice writing? Download the printable worksheet for GENKI Lesson 13.
What’s next
- かもしれません, でしょう, はず and に違いない: how sure are you?
- GENKI Lesson 12: ほうがいい and なければいけません
- 〜たら: the most useful “if”
Practice speaking with a real teacher
Tell a teacher what you can and can’t do in Japanese: ひらがなは読めます。でも、漢字はまだあまり読めません。 On italki, you can find teachers who use GENKI and book a short trial lesson.
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