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Verb stem+かかる vs verb stem+かける

zuotengdazuo

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8 Dec 2019
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1. ... 水平線に消えかかっている島影を確かめる。
2. ...しかも自分が殺されかけた相手だっていうのに...

Hi. I have learnt that both verb stem (ます form)+かかる and verb stem (ます form)+かける mean "be about to" or "almost". So are they the same? Are they usually interchangeable?

For example, can we say the following?
1a. ... 水平線に消えかけている島影を確かめる。
2a. ...しかも自分が殺されかかった相手だっていうのに...

And why is ている form used in 1? Can we use かかった or かかる?
Thank you.
 
I have learnt that both verb stem (ます form)+かかる and verb stem (ます form)+かける mean "be about to" or "almost". So are they the same? Are they usually interchangeable?
The answer is no.
~かかる always can be changed with ~かける, so #1a is valid. However, the reverse is not always possible. ~かかる can be attached only to 非対格動詞 unaccusative verb, including passive form of transitive verbs.

殺される is the passive form of 殺す, thus, #2a 殺されかかった is also valid.

why is ている form used in 1?
It's the present progressive tense.

Can we use かかった or かかる?
It's used in a modifying clause, not the main verb, so both 水平線に消えかかった島影 and 水平線に消えかかる島影 can have the same meaning. 消えかかった also can be past, though.
 
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Hi. Could you help me with another similar pattern?
帆高くんのその言葉に、忘れかけていた昨夜の記憶が頭をもたげた。

Why is 忘れかけていた used here? What is the difference between 忘れかけていた、忘れかけた、忘れかけている、忘れかける? They all seem to mean "began to forget".
 
The past form of a state often connotes that the state is over now. For instance, 結婚していた often means "is divorced now". In your example, the reason why 忘れかけていた is used there is because the state is over, i.e., the speaker/subject just remembered the memory. 忘れかけた also works well in the same reason, but 忘れかける doesn't since this s for future or habit. 忘れかけている would be acceptable as the present state, but 忘れかけていた more clearly shows a nuance of "the memory has just come to my mind".
 
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