An alternative way of expressing one’s potential is to use ことができる koto ga dekiru (to be

able to do), for example. See Chapter 10 for ことができる koto ga dekiru.

Exercise

4·13
Indicate the potential form of each of the following verbs.

1. かく kaku (write) 
2. いう iu (say) 
3. よむ yomu (read ) 
4. かう kau (buy) 
5. くる kuru (come) 
6. たべる taberu (eat, ru verb) 

Conjugating the copular verb です desu

Use です desu to express to be or to be equal to to show the identity or the state of things and
people. (See Chapter 1 for more aboutです desu.) The following table shows how it is used after a
noun, such as 犬 inu (dog), in both plain and polite speech styles:

Polite Plain
Affirmative Negative* Affirmative Negative*
犬じゃありません
犬だ 犬じゃない
犬です inu ja arimasen
inu da inu ja nai
Non-past

inu desu (or 犬じゃないです

(is a dog / are (isn’t a dog / aren’t
(is a dog / are dogs) inu ja nai desu)
dogs) dogs)
(isn’t a dog / aren’t dogs)
犬じゃありませんでした
犬でした 犬だった 犬じゃなかった
inu ja arimasendeshita
inu deshita inu datta inu ja nakatta
(or 犬じゃなかったです
(was a dog / were (was a dog / were (wasn’t a dog /
inu ja nakatta desu)
Past

dogs) dogs) weren’t dogs)

(wasn’t a dog / weren’t dogs)

* In the negative forms in this table, じゃ ja is the contracted form of では de wa. You use it in a formal situation or in
writing like the following:
犬ではありません Inu de wa arimasen.
犬ではない Inu de wa nai. (isn’t a dog / aren’t dogs)
犬ではありませんでした Inu de wa arimasendeshita. (wasn’t a dog / weren’t dogs)
犬ではなかった Inu de wa nakatta. (wasn’t a dog / weren’t dogs)

Basic verb forms 47