かけ / かける | Grammar

Structure

[verb ます-stem] + かけ + の + [noun] [verb ます-stem] + かけ + だ [verb ます-stem] + かける

Description

かけ after a ます-stem describes something started and then left unfinished: a half-eaten cake, a half-read book. It behaves like a noun, so it takes の before another noun and だ or です at the end of a sentence.

。

I left the book I was halfway through on the table.

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My half-finished coffee has gone cold.

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This homework is still only half done.

The verb is in the ます-stem, never the dictionary form.

× 食べるかけのケーキ → 食べかけのケーキ

Halfway or almost

What かけ means depends on the verb. With an action that takes time – eating, reading, writing, making – it is "partway through". With a sudden change – breaking, dying, going out – it is "nearly": the change has started and hasn't happened yet.

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I saved the half-written email as a draft.

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A faint sound comes from the radio, which is on its last legs.

かけ and かける

かけ is the noun form of the verb suffix かける, which takes the same ます-stem and conjugates as a る-verb: かけた, かけて, かけている. かけ describes the thing left in that state; かける says what someone did or what nearly happened.

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There's a half-eaten apple on the table.

、。

She started to say something, but in the end said nothing.

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I was nearly hit by a car.

× 言うかけて → 言いかけて

With ている, a change is under way now and hasn't gone through yet.

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The battery is about to die.

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I remembered a promise I had almost forgotten.

かける or 始める

says an action started and carries on. かける says it started and then stopped, or hasn't been finished.

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I started reading the book.

、。

I started on the book but got sleepy and gave up.

話しかける, a different かける

In はなしかける話しかける "speak to someone", よびかける呼びかける "call out to" and わらいかける笑いかける "smile at", かける points the action at a person, and nothing is half done. These are verbs in their own right, and the person takes に.

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A stranger spoke to me on the train.

Examples

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There's a half-eaten apple on the table.

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I got on the train with the novel I'd been partway through reading.

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Please don't throw away the half-drunk juice.

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I left the half-made food as it was and went out.

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I nearly tripped.

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The old computer is on the verge of breaking down.

、。

She started to say something, but in the end said nothing.

、。

The battery is about to die, so you should charge it.

、。

He was on the verge of death, but the doctor saved his life.

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I saved the half-written email as a draft.

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I remembered a promise I had almost forgotten.

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Passengers were rescued from the sinking ship.

、。

I started on the book but got sleepy and gave up.

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I was saved by a friend just as I was about to drown.

References

かけBunpro
Start to II: ～かける & ～かかるimabi.org