Ability ことができる in Japanese

In Brief

Put a verb in its dictionary form before ことができる to say that someone can do something: 泳ぐことができる means “can swim.” Use ことができます in polite speech and ことができない／できません for “cannot.” With some skill nouns, use noun + ができる, as in 料理ができる (“can cook”).

Overview

ことができる is a dependable A2 pattern for expressing ability or practical possibility. It covers both a person’s capacity—“I can speak Japanese”—and circumstances that make an action possible—“You can book online.” It is especially common in polite explanations, written information, service language, rules, and situations where the speaker wants to be clear.

English places “can” before the main verb. Japanese builds the idea differently. こと turns an action into a noun-like unit, が marks that unit, and できる says that it is possible. Thus, 漢字を読むことができる is literally close to “reading kanji is possible.” A noun is a word for a person, thing, activity, or idea; here, こと lets an entire action behave rather like one.

Japanese also has a shorter potential form—a changed verb form that expresses “can,” such as 読める (“can read”) and 食べられる (“can eat”). That form is very common in conversation. The longer ことができる pattern is nevertheless natural and useful: it is regular, easy to build once you know the dictionary form, and often suits formal or explanatory contexts.

How It Works

1. Start with the dictionary form

The dictionary form is the plain, non-past form under which a verb appears in a dictionary: 話す, 食べる, する, and 来る. Add ことができる directly to it.

Verb	Meaning	Ability expression
話す	to speak	話すことができる
泳ぐ	to swim	泳ぐことができる
食べる	to eat	食べることができる
運転する	to drive	運転することができる
来る	to come	来ることができる

The pattern is:

[verb dictionary form] + ことができる

The verb phrase before こと may contain more than one word. An object is the person or thing directly affected by an action; in Japanese it is often marked by を.

• 日本語を話すことができる — can speak Japanese
• 車を運転することができる — can drive a car
• 一人で予約することができる — can make a reservation alone

Keep the normal particles inside that phrase. In particular, do not remove を just because another が appears later: 日本語を話すことができる is correctly formed.

2. Change できる, not the first verb

Tense, politeness, and negation are carried by できる. The first verb remains in the dictionary form.

Meaning	Plain	Polite
can speak	話すことができる	話すことができます
cannot speak	話すことができない	話すことができません
was able to speak	話すことができた	話すことができました
was unable to speak	話すことができなかった	話すことができませんでした

Japanese non-past forms can refer to the present, a general fact, or the future. Context supplies the time:

• 今は入ることができません。— You cannot enter now.
• 明日は入ることができます。— You can enter tomorrow.

3. Make a question with か

In polite speech, add か:

泳ぐことができますか。 — Can you swim?

A Japanese ability question can sometimes function as a polite request, just as English “Can you…?” can. However, ここに名前を書くことができますか may sound like a genuine question about ability. If you simply want to ask someone to write their name, ここに名前を書いてください (“Please write your name here”) is more direct and natural.

4. Use noun + ができる for skills

Some activities and fields can be expressed directly as nouns:

Pattern	Natural meaning
日本語ができる	can use/speak Japanese
料理ができる	can cook
スキーができる	can ski
運転ができる	can drive

This is not a free rule for every noun. It works best with a language, sport, learned skill, or activity that naturally combines with する. When unsure, use the full verb pattern: ピアノを弾くことができる is clearer than trying to treat ピアノ alone as the skill.

Also remember that できる has meanings beyond ability. Depending on context, 料理ができた can mean “the food is ready,” and 新しい駅ができた means “a new station was built/opened.” Context tells you whether noun + ができる describes skill, completion, or something coming into existence.

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
日本語を話すことができます。	I can speak Japanese.	Polite statement of ability
泳ぐことができますか？	Can you swim?	Polite question
車を運転することができません。	I cannot drive a car.	Polite negative
料理ができます。	I can cook.	Noun skill + ができる
妹は漢字を千字ぐらい読むことができます。	My younger sister can read about a thousand kanji.	Learned ability
この図書館では無料でWi-Fiを使うことができます。	You can use Wi-Fi free of charge at this library.	Available facility
このアプリから席を予約することができます。	You can reserve a seat through this app.	Instructions or service information
昨日は忙しくて、電話することができませんでした。	I was busy yesterday and could not call.	Circumstances prevented the action
子どものころは、自転車に乗ることができなかった。	I could not ride a bicycle when I was a child.	Plain past negative
練習したので、最後まで泳ぐことができました。	Because I practised, I was able to swim all the way to the end.	Successful result
ここから富士山を見ることができます。	You can see Mount Fuji from here.	Conditions make seeing possible
この部屋ではたばこを吸うことができません。	You cannot smoke in this room.	Rule or prohibition expressed as impossibility
田中さんは中国語もできます。	Tanaka can also speak Chinese.	Language as a skill noun
日曜日なら参加することができます。	If it is Sunday, I can take part.	Ability depends on a condition

Common Mistakes

Using the ます-form before こと

• Wrong: 日本語を話しますことができます。
• Right: 日本語を話すことができます。
• Why: The verb before こと must be in its dictionary form. Politeness appears at the end in できます.

Negating the first verb

• Wrong for “cannot eat”: 食べないことができます。
• Right: 食べることができません。
• Why: Negate できる. 食べないことができる has a different and unusual meaning: “it is possible to choose not to eat.”

Replacing the object particle with が inside the phrase

• Wrong: 日本語が話すことができます。
• Right: 日本語を話すことができます。
• Why: 話す normally marks what is spoken with を. The が in ことができる belongs to the larger construction and does not replace that を.

Treating every noun as a skill noun

• Unnatural: 本ができます。 for “I can read a book.”
• Right: 本を読むことができます。
• Why: Noun + ができる works with established activities such as 料理, スキー, and languages. With an ordinary object such as 本, state the action explicitly.

Assuming できません always means lack of skill

• Misreading: 今日は会うことができません。 = “I do not know how to meet today.”
• Actual meaning: “I cannot meet today.”
• Why: The pattern can describe either personal ability or external circumstances. Time, place, rules, and surrounding sentences reveal the intended meaning.

Using the long pattern in every casual sentence

• Possible but formal: 明日来ることができる？
• Often more conversational: 明日来られる？
• Why: ことができる is grammatically correct, but the potential form is usually shorter and more natural in relaxed conversation.

Usage Notes

Ability, opportunity, and rules

English “can” covers several ideas, and ことができる does too:

• ability: 漢字を読むことができる — can read kanji
• opportunity or conditions: ここから海を見ることができる — can see the sea from here
• available service: オンラインで申し込むことができる — can apply online
• rule or permission: このカードで入ることができる — can enter with this card

A negative form on a notice may function as a prohibition even though it is worded as impossibility: ここでは写真を撮ることができません means that photography is not allowed here. In everyday speech, direct permission patterns such as 〜てもいい (“it is all right to…”) may distinguish permission more clearly.

Formality and natural conversation

The polite ending できます does not automatically make the whole construction excessively formal. 日本語を話すことができますか is perfectly usable in a polite interview or classroom exchange. Still, public information and careful explanations favor the long form more than spontaneous conversation does.

In casual speech, speakers commonly choose potential verbs:

ことができる	Potential form	Meaning
話すことができる	話せる	can speak
書くことができる	書ける	can write
食べることができる	食べられる	can eat
することができる	できる	can do
来ることができる	来られる	can come

At beginner level, ことができる is a useful regular pattern. As your listening improves, learn to recognize both patterns rather than replacing one mechanically with the other in every sentence.

Subjects are often omitted

Japanese usually leaves out “I,” “you,” or another subject when the context makes it obvious. 運転することができますか can mean “Can you drive?” without あなた. Repeatedly adding 私は or あなたは is not grammatically wrong, but it can sound unnecessarily explicit.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these points at A2, but they explain forms you will encounter later.

Contrast with ことはできる

Replacing が with the contrastive particle は can imply “I can do that much, but…”:

読むことはできますが、書くことはできません。
“I can read it, but I cannot write it.”

The は highlights a limited or contrasted ability. Without a contrast in mind, が is the safer beginner choice.

Becoming able with ようになる

ことができる describes an ability at a particular time. To emphasize a change—“become able to”—Japanese commonly uses the potential form plus ようになる:

毎日練習して、漢字が読めるようになりました。
“After practising every day, I became able to read kanji.”

You may also encounter 読むことができるようになりました. It is clear but heavier; the shorter potential form is often preferred.

Successful one-time actions

Past ことができた／できました can report that circumstances allowed a particular action and that it was accomplished:

予約が取れて、試合を見ることができました。
“I got a reservation and was able to watch the match.”

This is more than a general skill. It describes a successful opportunity. English also makes this distinction imperfectly: “could” often describes past general ability, while “was able to” emphasizes one successful event.

Potential form and particles

With ことができる, the verb phrase keeps its ordinary object marking: 日本語を話すことができる. With a potential verb, both 日本語が話せる and 日本語を話せる occur, with が traditionally associated with the potential construction and を common in modern usage. This particle question belongs to the potential form itself; it does not change the basic A2 rule for ことができる.

Practice Tips

1. Build from dictionary forms. Choose five useful verbs and make three versions of each: affirmative, negative, and question—for example, 読むことができます, 読むことができません, 読むことができますか.
2. Separate skill from circumstance. Write one sentence about something you know how to do and one about something a place or service makes possible: 料理ができます versus ここで料理をすることができます.
3. Notice register in real Japanese. On websites and signs, underline ことができます. In conversations, listen for shorter potential forms such as 話せる and 行ける. Linking the two forms will improve both reading and listening.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Plain/Dictionary Form — supplies the verb form placed before こと.
• Later development: Koto Expressions — expands こと into patterns for decisions, rules, experiences, and other abstract actions.