～かけだ／～かける— Left Half-Done

• テーブルに食べかけのケーキがある。

  Teeburu ni tabekake no keeki ga aru.

  There is a half-eaten cake on the table.

  ます-stem 食べ + かけの + noun describes the cake in a half-eaten state.

• 彼は何か言いかけて、やめた。

  Kare wa nanika iikakete, yameta.

  He started to say something, then stopped.

  言い + かけて shows an action begun but broken off midway.

• この本はまだ読みかけだ。

  Kono hon wa mada yomikake da.

  I'm still only partway through this book.

  読み + かけだ describes the book as left in a half-read state.

• ・Attaches to the verb ます-stem (食べ, 読み, 言い).
• ・かける = the act of half-doing; かけだ/かけの = the resulting half-done state.
• ・Can also mean 'on the verge of', e.g. 死にかける (nearly die).

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～かけだ／～かける is tested against.

• ～きる／きれる — Do It Completely
• ～きれない — Too Much To Finish
• ～ぬく — Do It All the Way Through