honorific -(r)are conjugation / o~ ni naru

[risoukyou]

hi, just wondering if a verb that has been conjugated into the honorific -(r)are form, is it possible to further conjugate it into the potential form?

(ignoring the fact that taberu has an honorific form meshiagaru)

e.g. tabemasu -> taberaremasu (honorific)
taberaremasu -> taberareraremasu (?)

also, is 'naru' in the 'o~ ni naru' hooorific form the same kana/kanji as the normal 'ni naru'? (~to become)

otabe ni naru -> otabe ni narareru (saw somewhere on the net) OR otabe ni nareru (??)

doumo arigatou..

[Mikawa Ossan]

Are you asking purely out of curiosity or do you intend to use it in conversation somehow?

To answer your first question,

taberaremasu used as an honorific is already in the passive tense, which in this case happens to be identical to the potential form. To the best of my knowledge, you simply cannot make a potential passive form of a verb. Therefore, taberareraremasu can not exist in Japanese. (Even if it technically could, no one would ever use it.)

Which brings us to your second question. I believe that grammatically the correct way is (using your example) to say that is "otabe ni naremasu" or depending on the context perhaps, "otabe ni natte itadakemasu" ((We) can have you eat.) You might hear this latter if you go to some business and the person attending you is explaining their products or services. I think in actual usage, this latter form more common.

Good luck in your studies!:cool:

[risoukyou]

thanks alot, it was just something which someone else asked while revising for my japanese module exam. cheers =)