Quote:
Originally Posted by conflitz
ありがとうございます！
Would あなたが日本語はなすか？ translate to "Do you speak Japanese?" And what would be the polite form of はなす if it doesn't use する?
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1. The polite form of はなす is はなします. However,
2. the correct forms would be 日本語ができますか。 or 日本語がはなせますか。(I prefer the second. I had a nurse in Japan one time loudly ask me that as if I were deaf instead of American
)
What you guessed is more akin to "Will you speak Japanese in the future?" or something like that.
A couple notes:
1. はなせます is the polite form of the potential form ("to be able to do X") of はなす.
2. できます is the polite form of "to be able to do something"
3. In polite writing, there is only one way to end a sentence: 。 ？ is not a native Japanese punctuation, and appears in manga and such, but not in professional/"good" writing.
4. Don't use あなた. And while we're at it, don't use わたし、かれ、etc. Foreigners learning Japanese use pronouns
way more than Japanese do. You'll learn how and when to use them as you study.