Questions about 済ます

[dwcarless]

Hi!
I am curious about the use of 済ます.

1) Is this always used in the sense of making do/finishing without, like:
私は辞書なしで済ますことができます。

or can you use it like "I can make do/finish with" (I can do/finish it if I have):
私は辞書で済ますことができます。

2) Is there a difference in nuance between 済ますことができます and 済ませります。

3) In English, sometime the phrase "I can make do/finish (could have done/finished) without that" has a negative connotation, meaning that they prefer (would have preferred) to do/finish without. Does that ever have the same connotation in Japanese when using 済ます?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Toritoribe]

1)
Both are grammatically correct, but some context is needed for the example 辞書で済ます.

私はパソコンを持っているから、紙の辞書を買わなくて もインターネットの辞書で済ますことができます。

2)
済ませります doesn't exist. The polite potential form of 済ます is 済ませます. However, there is another verb 済ませる which has the same meaning as 済ます, so 済ませられます is more preferred.

3)
Depending on the context, yes.

 

[dwcarless]

Thanks!

And yeah, I went temporarily brain dead conjugating 済ませる as a godan.

As far as 済ませる vs 済ます, I don't quite get what you mean by that they have the same meaning. Is 済ませる a seperate (but equal) verb to 済ます, or the potential form of 済ます, or both? Or to ask another way, is 済ませられます the potential of 済ませる, or the potential passive of 済ます?

 

[Toritoribe]

Is 済ませる a seperate (but equal) verb to 済ます, or the potential form of 済ます, or both?

The last one "both" is correct. 済ませる is a verb which is derived from 済ます, and is also the potential form of 済ます at the same time. Similarly, 済ませます is the polite form of 済ませる, and is also the polite potential form of 済ます at the same time. Therefore 済ませられます is preferred for the polite potential form to make clear the meaning.

As for the difference between 済ます and 済ませる, the latter sounds more colloquial.

済ます - goo辞書
済ませる - goo辞書

 

[dwcarless]

That's perfect -- thank you so much!

 

[nice gaijin]

I remember in a class being taught the grammar pattern 「～ないで済む」, meaning to get by without something or without doing something, using the intransitive form of 済む.

In the dictionary, you can see they use 借金を済ます and 借金が済む as examples.

I've used this form sparingly but it would be something like 「辞書使わないで済んだ」 or 「辞書使わないで試験を済ませた」, but I think if I weren't looking to use it I would probably use a word that more clearly indicates a known result, like 合格した