ERGOCALCIFEROL SOLN 200 MCG/ML

Long potential: られる

As mentioned in the section on the passive‚ one of the other roles that れる/られる can play is that of the (long) potential. The potential form of a verb in English is typically constructed using the auxiliary verb “can”‚ such as when turning “I swim” into “I can swim”‚ but in Japanese this is a conjugation instead. The reason this form is called the “long” potential is that there exists a shorter potential form for the 五段 verbs‚ which will be discussed after this section. Forming the long potential is no different from forming the passive‚ except that it is generally not used for 五段 verbs:

Formation of the long potential form is the same as for the passive form:

verb meaning potential meaning 見る _see 見られる _{be able to see} 伸びる _stretch 伸びられる _{be able to stretch} 食べる _eat 食べられる _{be able to eat}

来

く

る _come 来

こ

られる _{be able to come}

There is one striking exception to this potential form‚ and that’s the irregular verb する‚ “do”. Rather than inflecting‚ this verb is simply replaced entirely with the verb 出来

でき

る‚ which literally means “be able to do”.

We need to be mindful of particles again: verbs in potential form are always intransitive‚ and so any direct object it might take in normal use becomes a verb sub- ject instead‚ requiring the use of が rather than を. However‚ quite often in colloquial Japanese‚ the direct object particle を will be heard used in combination with these verbs‚ rather than the subject particle が‚ not because this is grammatically correct‚ but because it “feels right”. If you are a beginning student of Japanese‚ however‚ it is recommended you stick with proper grammar until you have mastered it to a level that allows you to interact with native speakers‚ so that you get a feel for what is “right” through exposure to the language as it is used by people.

You may also hear people using れる rather than られる‚ but at the moment this is discouraged language abuse: the idea behind it is that the short potential form for 五段 verbs always ends on え—row syllable + る‚ and so using れる for 一段 verbs “does the same thing”. However‚ while they might sound the same‚ れる is a classical helper verb‚ whereas the え—row syllable + る sound for 五段 verbs is actually a contraction from what used to be い—row syllable + える‚ so they have completely different background. So until the Japanese language authorities start accepting this highly colloquial “short potential for 一段 verbs” as right and proper‚ you’re best off avoiding it; at least outside of colloquial interaction with Japanese people who use it.

More grammar — § 3.2 Further inflections 135 A: 車 くるま を止 と めて下 くだ さい。 B: すみません、車が今 いま 止められません。

A: “Please stop the car.”

B: “(I am) sorry‚ but (I) cannot stop the car right now.”

On a final note‚ this potential form is one of a temporary nature. For instance‚ rather than meaning “I can see” in general (because you have eyes that work)‚ 見られ る means “I can see (whatever I am supposed to see right now)”. Similarly‚ 食

た

べられ る means “(I) can eat (this)”‚ rather than the more general “(I) can eat”. If we want to say that we have an inherent ability to do (or not do) something‚ we have to use 連体 形 + ことが出来

でき

る‚ which will be explained after we cover the short potential form.

Short potential: 連用形 + 得

え

る

The short potential form is called “short” because it is simply a lot shorter than the full 未然形+られる version of the potential. However‚ in modern Japanese‚ this con- struction only exists for 五段 verbs. For 一段 verbs‚ the only grammatically correct potential form is the られる potential form. To create the short potential form‚ the 連 用形 is paired with the verb 得

え

る‚ meaning “to acquire”‚ to form an “a ainable” form of verbs.

In this combination‚ the final い—row syllable of the 連用形 for 五段 verbs has become contracted with the え sound from 得る over the course of history‚ becoming an え—row syllable instead. To illustrate:

verb meaning classical inflection contracted via modern inflection

会う _meet 会いえる 会いぇる 会える

読む _read 読みえる 読みぇる 読める

分かる _understand 分かりえる 分かりぇる 分かれる

While this construction in modern Japanese is a contraction‚ there are a hand- ful of verbs in which this contraction never occurred‚ and as such are still in use today in the uncontracted form. Verbs such as ありえる (from ある) or 起

お

こりえる (from 起こる‚ “to occur”) are examples of this. Interestingly‚ this potential form can also be seen in certain modern 一段 verbs that have traditionally been paired with 得る‚ such

136 More grammar — § 3.2 Further inflections

as 見

み

える‚ “to (be able to) see”‚ from the 一段 verb 見る‚ or 煮

に

える‚ “(be able to) boil”‚ from the 一段 verb 煮る.

Just like with the 未然形 potential form‚ verbs placed in this short potential form become intransitive‚ which means that technically they can only be used in re- lation to subjects‚ and no longer in relation to direct objects.

五段 verb short potential form

会う 会える 歩く 歩ける 急ぐ 急げる 話す 話せる 死ぬ 死ねる 学ぶ 学べる 読む 読める 待つ 待てる 分かる 分かれる ある ありえる

Some examples to show this potential form: 病気

びょうき

であんまり歩

ある

けません。

“Because of (my) illness‚ I can’t walk that well (at the moment).” これでいけるでしょうか。

“I wonder if this will do.”

The いける in this second sentence is actually a fairly important word to know. While strictly speaking the short potential form of 行

い

く‚ its meaning of “being able to go” has become overloaded with the figurative meaning of “something being able to go well”. As such‚ いける means “being fine”‚ “being good” as well as noting that something “will do” or “is acceptable”.

Note again that because this is a potential form‚ を has to be swapped for が: A: 本 ほん をいくら読みますか。 B: そうですね。時間 じかん がたっぷりあって、本がいっぱい読めます。

More grammar — § 3.3 Formal speech pa erns 137