im an intermediate speaker, in an intermediate language class. (sorry for using romaji im very sleepy and also busy)
Its the beginning of the year so we are learning things like te form and past casual tense and stuff, i know these things tho
One sentence structure theyve been having us practice for days now is
_____wo____koto ga dekimasu
or arimasu
theyll have us practice asking and saying this sentence structure over and over again. Im confused because i didnt hear it much before, but it almost seems like its being used in place of just saying you did something. But that doesnt sound right because i thought this sentence structure was basically saying” i can do this.”
My sensei gave an example and said
fuji san wo nobotta koto ga arimashita
this way is a bit more like “i had done something” instead of just” _verb_past tense”
Please correct me if im wrong. Its an immersion style of teaching so they dont often provide english translation unless really needed, just examples
4 comments
日本に行ったことがあります
I have been to Japan.
作ったことがあります
I have made it before.
Are you also asking about ことができます? (“Can do…”)?
Koto in this case turns the fragment before it into a noun that can be modified.
日本に行った – i went to Japan
日本に行ったこと – The act of having gone to Japan
日本に行ったことがある – the act of having gone to Japan exists (aka, I’ve been to Japan before)
First thing: the “X (past tense)koto ga arimasu” is simply the Japanese way of saying “have done X”
As for “X koto ga dekimasu”, yes, it is just saying “can do X”. HOWEVER, it’s also the more formal/polite version. Schools in general teach you the polite form of grammar, even if you’re more likely to hear the causal form on a daily basis.