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JLPT N2Verb Forms

～かける／かけの— Half-Done, In the Middle Of

Attached to a verb stem to show that an action has been started but not finished, or is just about to happen. かける conjugates as a verb (かけた, かけている), かけの modifies a noun ('half-eaten X'), and かけだ ends a sentence. It captures a 'midway / on the verge of' state.

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Pro lessonUNIT 19 · VERB FORMS

Structure · 形

[Verb ます-stem] + かける／かけの(+Noun)／かけだ

Examples · 例文

  • 食べかけのパンをテーブルに置いたままだ。

    Tabekake no pan o tēburu ni oita mama da.

    The half-eaten bread is still left on the table.

    食べ (stem of 食べる) + かけの modifies パン = 'half-eaten bread.'

  • 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 (stem of 言う) + かけて = 'was about to / began to say.'

  • この本はまだ読みかけです。

    Kono hon wa mada yomikake desu.

    I'm still in the middle of reading this book.

    読み (stem of 読む) + かけです = 'partway through reading.'

Usage notes · 注意

  • かける = verb ('start to / be about to'), かけの = noun-modifier, かけだ = sentence-ender.
  • Also expresses 'on the verge of' with verbs like 死にかける (nearly die), 消えかける (about to go out).
  • Register: neutral; common in everyday speech and writing.

Commonly confused with

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

vsつつある

つつある means an action is steadily progressing toward completion ('in the process of'); かける emphasizes something begun but interrupted or only half-done.

vsところだ

～ようとするところだ frames an action about to start at a precise moment; かける describes a general half-finished/on-the-verge state, and can modify nouns (かけの).

More verb forms

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