Basic Possession and Ability | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 私はこれを持っています。

   I have this one.

   私は

   as for me

   これ

   this one

   持っています

   have

   More detail

   私は consists of 私 (“I/me”) plus は, which marks the topic. Here the topic is the speaker: “As for me…” or simply “I…”. 私 is a first-person pronoun; this form does not change for grammatical gender or number. Example: 私は学生です。 — “I am a student.” これ means “this one” or “this.” It is a demonstrative pronoun for a referent near the speaker or treated as near in the discourse. The form itself does not identify what the referent is; the fixed translation supplies the intended “this one.” Example: これは何ですか。 — “What is this?” 持っています comes from 持つ, “to have” or “to hold.” It is the polite nonpast form of the -ている construction: 持って + います. With 持つ in this sentence, it presents possession: “have.” In another context, the same verb can describe physically holding something. Example: 私は鍵を持っています。 — “I have a key.” The topic 私は identifies the speaker, これ identifies the item as “this one,” and 持っています states politely that the speaker has it. Together, these parts express “I have this one.”

2. 私はそれを持っていません。

   I do not have it.

   私は

   I; as for me

   それを

   it (as the object)

   持っていません

   do not have

   More detail

   私は combines 私 (わたし, “I”) with は, which marks the topic: “as for me.” 私 is a common polite-neutral first-person pronoun; Japanese pronouns do not change form for subject gender or number here. A reusable pattern is 私は…です (“I am …”) or 私は…ます (“I …”). それを combines それ (“that; it”) with を, the marker for the direct object. In this utterance, the fixed translation identifies それ as the thing referred to by “it.” The demonstrative contrast is useful: これ refers to something treated as “this,” while それ refers to something treated as “that/it.” The form それ itself does not show whether the referent is singular or plural. 持っていません is the polite negative form used here for “do not have.” For possession, Japanese commonly uses 持っている (“have; be holding”) and its polite negative 持っていません (“do not have; am not holding”). The lexical verb is 持つ (“to hold; to have”); the observed form is not a simple negative of 持つ but the negative polite form of the 持っている construction. For example, 私は鍵を持っています。 means “I have a key.” Together, 私は sets the speaker as the topic, それを marks the thing possessed, and 持っていません states politely that the speaker does not have it. The whole utterance therefore means “I do not have it.”

3. 私はそれができます。

   I can do it.

   私は

   I; as for me

   それが

   it (subject)

   できます

   can do

   More detail

   私は consists of 私 (“I” / “me”) plus は, which marks the topic: “as for me.” 私 is a first-person pronoun. The topic marker does not itself mean that the sentence contains a contrast; its basic role is to set the topic. Example: 私は学生です。 — “I am a student.” それが consists of それ (“it” or “that”) plus が, which marks the subject in this construction. Here, the fixed translation identifies それ as “it.” The particle が links the thing that can be done with できます; it does not need to be translated as a separate word in English. Example: これができます。 — “I can do this.” できます is the polite nonpast form of できる, meaning “can do” or “be able to do.” The form できます is used for a present ability or a future possibility in a polite statement; it does not mark past time. Its negative counterpart is できません, as in the supplied next sentence, meaning “cannot do.” Example: 日本語ができます。 — “I can use Japanese.” Together, 私は sets “I” as the topic, それが marks “it” as the thing involved in the ability, and できます states the polite ability. The whole utterance therefore means “I can do it.”

4. 私はそれができません。

   I cannot do it.

   私は

   as for me

   それ

   it; that

   できません

   cannot do

   More detail

   私は consists of 私 (“I/me”) plus は, which marks the topic. Here, the speaker presents themself as the topic: “As for me...” The form 私 is a common first-person pronoun; は is a particle, not part of the pronoun. Example: 私は学生です。 — “I am a student.” それ is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or, in this sentence, “it.” Its exact referent is not identified by the supplied sentence, but the translation establishes the intended “it.” Japanese demonstratives include これ (“this”), それ (“that near the listener or already mentioned”), and あれ (“that over there”). できません is the polite negative form of できる. In this sentence, できる means “can do” or “be able to do,” so できません means “cannot do” or “am not able to do.” The polite affirmative form is できます, as in the preceding sentence; できません is its polite negative counterpart. Example: 今日はできません。 — “I cannot do it today.” The form できる can have other context-dependent uses, such as “be possible,” but here the fixed translation supports the ability-to-do reading. In それができません, それ is marked by が, the particle commonly used for the thing that is possible or that someone is able to do with できる. It is the task or action being evaluated for possibility, although English naturally translates it as the object of “do.” Together, 私は sets “I” as the topic, それが identifies the thing the ability statement concerns, and できません states that the speaker cannot do it. The whole utterance therefore means “I cannot do it.”

5. 私を手伝ってもらえますか。

   Can you help me?

   私を

   me

   手伝って

   help; assist

   手伝ってもらえますか

   could you help me?

   More detail

   私を means “me” as the person receiving the help. 私 is the first-person pronoun “I/me”; the particle を marks it as the object of the verb. Japanese does not change 私 between “I” and “me” by case, so 私 can serve both roles depending on the particle and sentence structure. 手伝って comes from 手伝う, “to help” or “to assist.” 手伝って is its て-form. This form connects the verb to another expression, rather than independently marking past time. For example, 手伝ってください。 means “Please help.” In 手伝ってもらえますか, 手伝って connects with もらえますか. もらう means “to receive,” and its potential form もらえる means “to be able to receive.” Here, もらえますか is a polite question used with a て-form to ask whether the listener can do something as a favor for the speaker: V-て もらえますか = “Could you do V for me?” Together, 私を手伝ってもらえますか。 asks the listener whether the speaker can receive the listener’s help: “Can you help me?” The listener is understood as the person who would perform 手伝う, while 私を identifies the person being helped. This is a polite, reusable request pattern.

6. あなたはこれができますか。

   Can you do this?

   あなたは

   you (as the topic)

   これ

   this

   できます

   can do; be able to

   か

   question marker

   More detail

   あなたは means “you” as the topic, or “as for you.” あなた is a second-person pronoun, and は marks the topic. Japanese often leaves a pronoun unstated when the context makes it clear, but this sentence explicitly names the person being asked. これ means “this.” It is a demonstrative pronoun for an item or matter identified as relatively close to the speaker or as the current subject. Unlike a demonstrative determiner, it stands on its own rather than directly modifying a noun. For example, これは何ですか。 means “What is this?” In これができます, が marks これ as the thing whose possibility or feasibility is at issue. With できる, Japanese commonly uses が for what someone can do or is capable of. Thus これができます means “can do this,” rather than expressing the usual direct-object pattern with を. できます expresses ability or possibility: “can do” or “be able to.” Its plain form is できる; できます is the polite nonpast form. The nonpast form can describe present ability or whether an action is possible in the situation; it does not by itself assert that the action has already happened. For example, 日本語ができます。 means “I can use or speak Japanese.” か marks the utterance as a question in this polite style. It comes at the end and turns the preceding statement into a question. Together, あなたは sets “you” as the topic, これができます asks whether doing this is possible for you, and final か marks the question. The whole utterance means “Can you do this?”