| Smith | : | Katoo-san, tsuukin jikan wa donogurai desu ka? |
| Katoo | : | Katamichi 1-jikan desu. |
| Smith | : | Ja, mai-nichi oofuku 2-jikan desu ne. |
| Katoo | : | Ee. Tsuukin de tsukaremasu yo. |
| Smith | : | Densha de suwaru koto ga dekimasu ka? |
| Katoo | : | Iie, densha wa kondeimasu kara, suwaru koto ga dekimasen. |
| Smith | : | Nan-ji goro uchi ni kaerimasu ka? |
| Katoo | : | Taitei 8-ji ka, 9-ji goro kaerimasu. Kinoo wa 11-ji ni kaerimashita. |
| Smith | : | 11-ji. Taihen desu ne. |
| Katoo | : | Ee. Motto hayaku kaeri-tai desu.
Demo, mai-nichi isogashii kara, hayaku kaeru koto ga dekimasen. |
| Smith | : | Katoo, how long does it take for you to commute? |
| Katoo | : | It takes an hour one way. |
| Smith | : | So it's two hours per day for a round trip. |
| Katoo | : | Yes. I get tired from commuting. |
| Smith | : | Can you take a seat on the train? |
| Katoo | : | No, the train is crowded so I cannot take a seat. |
| Smith | : | Around what time do you get home? |
| Katoo | : | Most of the time I get home around 8 or 9 o'clock. Yesterday I got home at 11 o'clock. |
| Smith | : | 11 o'clock. That's hard work. |
| Katoo | : | Yes. I want to go home earlier.
But everyday is a busy day, I cannot go home early. |
Key Sentences
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1. | Smith-san wa Kanji o yomu koto ga dekimasu. |
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2. | Katoo-san wa Chuugokugo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu. |
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3. | Susan-san wa Nihon ryoori o tsukuru koto ga dekimasu. |
| Susan-san can cook Japanese foods. |
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4. | 8-ji madeni kuukoo ni iku koto ga dekimasen. |
| I cannot go to the airport by 8:00. |
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5. | Kin-yoobi madeni repooto o kaku koto ga dekimasu ka? |
| Can you write a report by Friday? |
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6. | Uchiawase ni deru koto ga dekimasen. Isogashii desu kara. |
| I cannot attend the meeting. I'm too busy. |
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7. | Ashita kaigi ga aru kara, junbi o shimasu. |
| I have a meeting tomorrow, so I'll prepare. |
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8. | Isogashikatta kara, paatii ni ikimasendeshita. |
| I didn't go to the party because I was busy. |
Grammar Notes
Koto ga dekimasu "can do", "be able to do"
Koto ga dekimasu is a functional pattern expressing one's ability, possibility, or potential.
This pattern means "can do" or "be able to do" and always follows the verb root form.
| 1. | Susan-san wa Hiragana to Katakana o kaku koto ga dekimasu. |
| Susan can write Hiragana and Katakana. |
| 2. | Ashita au koto ga dekimasu ka? |
| 3. | Watashi wa kyoo no kaigi ni deru koto ga dekimasen. |
| I cannot attend today's meeting. |
Dekimasu can be used with some certain nouns which involve ability.
| 4. | Smith-san wa Nihongo ga dekimasu. |
| Smith-san wa Nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu. |
| Smith can speak Japanese. |
| 5. | Hokkaidoo de sukii ga dekimasu. |
| Hokkaidoo de sukii o suru koto ga dekimasu. |
| One can (go skiing) ski in Hokkaido. |
Dekimasu & dekiru
Dekimasu is a verb. So it has the plain form. Its root form is dekiru.
The sentence ends with masu such as koto ga dekimasu is formal, and the sentence ends with the root form such as koto ga dekiru is less formal.
Verb Root Form
Japanese verbs have inflection. They are classified into three groupings according to the way they are conjugated.
Please see the "Verb Section" on this web site about the verb conjugation and root form.
We also publish "Essential Japanese Verbs", book and Audio e-Book.
| Group
| Stem type
| masu form
| root form
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| Group 1 |
-i  -u
|
kaimasu |
kau |
buy |
| aimasu |
au |
meet |
| kaerimasu |
kaeru |
return, go home |
| tsukurimasu |
tsukuru |
make, cook |
| suwarimasu |
suwaru |
sit, have a seat |
| arimasu |
aru |
have / be at |
| ikimasu |
iku |
go |
| kakimasu |
kaku |
write, draw |
| yomimasu |
yomu |
read |
| nomimasu |
nomu |
drink |
| shinimasu |
shinu |
die |
| oyogimasu |
oyogu |
swim |
| yobimasu |
yobu |
call, hail |
|
-chi -tsu
|
machimasu |
matsu |
wait |
| mochimasu |
motsu |
hold, carry |
|
-shi -su
|
hanashimasu |
hanasu |
talk, speak |
| naoshimasu |
naosu |
repair, fix |
| Group 2 |
Stem + ru
|
tabemasu |
taberu |
eat |
| demasu |
deru |
attend / leave |
|
Stem + ru
|
mimasu |
miru |
watch, look, see |
| imasu |
iru |
be at, stay |
| dekimasu |
dekiru |
can do / be ready / newly open |
| Group 3 |
|
shimasu |
suru |
do, play |
| kimasu |
kuru |
come |
Kara & dakara "therefore", "so", "since" or "because"
The particle kara can indicate a reason or a cause. Kara comes after the phrase or clause which show a reason or cause.
There are two ways to use this pattern.
| 1. | Isogashii desu kara, paatii ni ikimasen. |
| Paatii ni ikimasen. Isogashii desu kara. |
| I'm not going to the party because I'm (too) busy. |
| 2. | Ashita shiken ga arimasu kara, konban benkyoo shimasu. |
| Konban benkyoo shimasu. Ashita shiken ga arimasu kara. |
| I have an exam tomorrow so I'll study tonight. |
When you make a statement after telling a reason, dakara is also common.
Dakara emphasizes the statement which shows a result, decision or judgment.
| 3. | Isogashii desu. Dakara, paatii ni ikimasen. |
| I'm (too) busy. So, I'm not going to the party. |
| 4. | Terebi ga kowaremashita. Dakara atarashii terebi o kaimasu. |
| My TV is broken. Therefore I'm going to buy a new TV. |
"Why" is dooshite or naze. Dooshite sounds softer than naze.
When you want to emphasize the reason, you can start your sentence with Nazenara.
| 5. | Q | : | Dooshite Chuugoku ni ikimasu ka? |
| A | : | (Nazenara) Pekin de kaigi ga arimasu kara. |
| Q | : | Why are you going to China? |
| A | : | Because I have a meeting in Beijing. |
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For Your Further Study
Essential Japanese
Building Up Conversation
Essential Japanese Building Up Conversation was developed to help learners master basic conversation skills in Japanese.
When you analyse each conversation, you will find that the conversation builds up using only simple and short sentences.
This material helps you acquire the ability to go with the flow of conversation, even about a complicated subject, by learning how to build up simple and short sentences through audio drills.
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For Your Further Study
Essential Japanese Verbs
This material explains clearly about the meaning of each verb with explaining its usage. "Key Sentences", "Practical Usage" and "Short Dialogues" also help you to grasp how you can apply each verb in communication.
Key Sentences shows you in what sentence pattern each verb is used. Practical Usage and Short Dialogues show how to use each verb in a more practical sense as in frequently used expressions and everyday conversations.
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|
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For Your Further Study
Japanese@Once
Learn practical Japanese conversation, essential words and grammar at Once.
This material is designed for those who want to learn practical Japanese language in a short period of time.
Frequently used everyday conversations and expressions are carefully selected and compiled with a large number of practical examples and vocabulary.
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Vocabulary
aimasu
to meet (someone)
arimasu
to have / to be at, exist
aru
root form of arimasu
ashita
tomorrow
atarashii
new, latest, fresh
au
root form of aimasu
benkyoo
study, learn
Chuugoku
China
Chuugokugo
Chinese (language)
dakara
so, therefore, because
de
particle indicating a place, or situation, scene, field, event involving an action
de
particle indicating a means, way or method, "by"
dekimasu (-koto ga dekimasu)
(fp) can, be able to do
dekiru
root form of dekimasu
demasu
to attend, participate, take part
demo
but, however
densha
train
deru
root form of demasu
donogurai
how long, how far, how much, how big
dooshite
why
ee
yes
goro
around (time)
hanashimasu
to talk, speak
hanasu
root form of hanashimasu
hayai
early, soon, fast, quick (adjective)
hayaku
early, soon, fast, quickly (adverb)
Hiragana
Hiragana characters
Hokkaidoo
place name
ikimasu
to go
iku
root form of ikimasu
isogashii
busy
isogashikatta
past form of isogashii
ja
well, then
jikan
time
junbi
preparation
ka (-ka)
or
kaerimasu
to return, go home
kaeru
root form of kaerimasu
kaigi
meeting, conference
kaimasu
to buy
kakimasu
to write, draw, paint
kaku
root form of kakimasu
kara (-kara)
(fp) so, therefore, because
Katakana
Katakana characters
katamichi
one way
kinoo
yesterday
kin-yoobi
Friday
konban
tonight
kondeimasu
to be crowded
koto (-koto ga dekimasu)
(fp) can, be able to do
kowaremasu
to break, be damaged, be out of order
kuukoo
airport
kyoo
today
madeni
by (time)
mai-nichi
every day
motto
more, farther
nan-ji
what time
ne
making a tag question / asking or telling an agreement
ni
particle indicating an indirect object or a direction of an action
ni
particle indicating a specific time
Nihon ryoori
Japanese food, cuisine, dish
Nihongo
Japanese language
oofuku
round trip
paatii
party
Pekin
Beijing
repooto
report
ryoori
food, cuisine, dish, cooking
shiken
examination, exam, test, trial, experiment
shimasu
to do, play, forming shimasu verb
suru
root form of shimasu
sukii
ski, skiing
suwarimasu
to sit down, have a seat
suwaru
root form of suwarimasu
tai (-tai desu)
(fp) want to do
taihen
hard, difficult, tough, problem
taitei
usually
terebi
TV set, TV program
tsukaremasu
to be tired, get tired
tsukurimasu
to make, produce, manufacture, build, construct
tsukuru
root form of tsukurimasu
tsuukin
commute, commuting
uchi
house, home
uchiawase
previous arrangement, informal meeting
watashi
I
yo
particle used when telling a new information or giving friendly sound
yomimasu
to read
yomu
root form of yomimasu
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