The7thSamurai
Master of the Universe
- 4 Feb 2005
- 765
- 26
- 38
Hi there,
I'm working through Pimsleur's Japanese vol.1 and it teaches you how to say "I speak Japanese" as "nihongo ga hanashimasu" and "I can/am able to speak Japanese" as "nihongo ga hanasemasu".
This is confusing me. I thought that to show potential (i.e. that you can do something) you use the ~koto ga dekiru form. So what is hanasemasu? If it comes from the verb "hanaseru", is this a verb in itself just like all other verbs or is it a combination of "hanasu" and "suru"? If the latter, then can you show potential using other verbs, like "nomimasu" vs "nomemasu" (I drink vs I can drink)?
Cheers
I'm working through Pimsleur's Japanese vol.1 and it teaches you how to say "I speak Japanese" as "nihongo ga hanashimasu" and "I can/am able to speak Japanese" as "nihongo ga hanasemasu".
This is confusing me. I thought that to show potential (i.e. that you can do something) you use the ~koto ga dekiru form. So what is hanasemasu? If it comes from the verb "hanaseru", is this a verb in itself just like all other verbs or is it a combination of "hanasu" and "suru"? If the latter, then can you show potential using other verbs, like "nomimasu" vs "nomemasu" (I drink vs I can drink)?
Cheers