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Potential Form

crystalc

後輩
17 Feb 2011
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Hi everyone,

I'm currently learning the potential form and my teacher provided an explanation that left my a little confused. She gave to sentences:

1) 猫は 魚を たべられる。
2)魚が たべられる。

My understanding of the potential form means that #2 would translate as "the fish can be eat (or, "as for the fish, I/you can eat"). However, 先生 implied that the first sentence had a negative connotation. I'm finding it difficult to see the "negative" in the first sentence.

Any help / clarification is greatly appreciated.

どもありがとございます。

Crystal
 
(1)魚を食べられる。
(2)魚が食べられる。
(3)魚はたべられる。

I cannot tell what kind of negative connotation can be aroused by the above (1).
Both (1) and (2) sound neutral for me - just (2) without context can be confusing as it can be either "(someone/something) can eat fish" (potential) and "fish is eaten" (passive).
And when there's a clear subject 猫が, somewhat (1) sounds a bit awkward and (2) sounds more common. Grammatically both should be OK though.

If anything, I think (3) is different - in case it is cat which eats fish, (3) implies that it can eat fish, but maybe not meat or something along the line.
 
Hi everyone,
I'm currently learning the potential form and my teacher provided an explanation that left my a little confused. She gave to sentences:
1) 猫は 魚を たべられる。
2)魚が たべられる。
My understanding of the potential form means that #2 would translate as "the fish can be eat (or, "as for the fish, I/you can eat"). However, 先生 implied that the first sentence had a negative connotation. I'm finding it difficult to see the "negative" in the first sentence.
Any help / clarification is greatly appreciated.
どもありがとございます。
Crystal
Your teacher was talking about the passive (間接受身[かんせつうけみ] or "indirect/adversative passive"), and not the potential, by any chance?

猫は魚を食[た]べられた。
The cat has her fish eaten (by someone/something).

This passive form indeed has a negative connotation.
 
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