Log inSign up

watasi ha tomodati to mata nakanaori dekiru to omoimasu.

私わたし　は　友達ともだち　と　また　仲直なかなおり　できる　と　思おもいます。watasi ha tomodati to mata nakanaori dekiru to omoimasu.
I think I can make up with my friend again.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have hundreds of Japanese lessons and thousands of exercises.
Start learning Japanese

Start learning Japanese now

Questions & Answers about watasi ha tomodati to mata nakanaori dekiru to omoimasu.

Why is there a と before 思います? What does that と do?

The と before 思います is the quotative particle. It marks what is being thought, said, or felt as a “quote” in a broad sense.

  • Pattern: (clause) + と + 思います
    → “I think (that clause).”

In this sentence, the whole part 私 は 友達 と また 仲直り できる is treated as the content of the thought:

  • 私 は 友達 と また 仲直り できる (I can make up with my friend again)
  • … と 思います (I think that …)

So と here works like the English word “that” in “I think that I can make up with my friend again,” except it’s obligatory in Japanese.

Why do we use は after 私? Could we use が, or leave 私 out?

は marks the topic of the sentence: what we are talking about. Here, the topic is 私 (“as for me / speaking about me”).

  • 私 は 友達 と また 仲直り できる と 思います。
    → As for me, I think I can make up with my friend again.

About alternatives:

  1. Omitting 私
    In natural conversation, 私 is often omitted if it’s obvious from context:

    • 友達とまた仲直りできると思います。
      Still usually means “I think I can make up with my friend again.”

  2. Using が: 私が友達とまた仲直りできると思います。

    • This is possible, but it emphasizes 私 as the grammatical subject of できる:
      “I (not someone else) can make up with my friend again, I think.”
    • It feels a bit more contrastive/specific and less like a neutral topic.

In most neutral cases, 私は (or just omitting 私) is more natural than 私が here.

What exactly does 友達と mean here? Why is the particle と used with 友達?

友達と literally means “with (my) friend” in this context.

The particle と has a “together with / companion” function:

  • 友達と映画を見ます。
    I watch a movie with my friend.
  • 友達と仲直りする。
    I make up with my friend.

So in 友達とまた仲直りできる, the と marks the other party involved in the reconciliation.

Using に instead (友達に仲直りする) would be unnatural; 仲直りする almost always takes と for “with (someone) make up.”

What does また mean here? Is it exactly “again”? How is it different from もう一度 or もう?

In this sentence, また means “again” in the sense of “once more / another time.”

Nuance:

  • また: again / also / and also

    • Here: “again” (repeating an action that stopped)
    • Slightly neutral/hopeful tone: “We’ll be on good terms again.”

  • もう一度: “one more time / once more”

    • Stronger emphasis on one more attempt or repetition of an act.
    • 友達ともう一度仲直りできると思います。
      → Focuses more on “one more chance to make up.”

  • もう by itself often means “already / any more / soon / anymore”, depending on context.

    • もう仲直りした。 → We already made up.
    • もう仲直りできない。 → We can’t make up anymore.

In this sentence, また nicely expresses the idea of returning to being on good terms again.

What is 仲直り exactly? Is it a verb or a noun?

仲直り is a noun meaning roughly “reconciliation,” “making up (after a fight),” “restoring a relationship.”

  • Dictionary form: 仲直り（する）
    • The する part turns it into a verb phrase: 仲直りする = “to make up / reconcile.”

In your sentence, 仲直り is used as a verbal noun combined with できる:

  • 仲直りできる
    Literally: “to be able to do reconciliation”
    Naturally: “to be able to make up,” “can make up.”

So grammatically:

  • 仲直り → noun (“reconciliation”)
  • 仲直りする → verb (“to reconcile”)
  • 仲直りできる → potential form (“to be able to reconcile”).
Why do we say 仲直りできる instead of just 仲直りする?

できる is the potential form of する, meaning “can / be able to.” The nuance is:

  • 仲直りする: “(will) make up,” a straightforward statement of the action.
  • 仲直りできる: “(will) be able to make up / can make up,” focusing on possibility or ability.

With と思います, this becomes a softer, more tentative statement:

  • 友達とまた仲直りすると思います。
    → “I think we will make up again.” (somewhat more assertive about it happening)

  • 友達とまた仲直りできると思います。
    → “I think we can make up again / will be able to make up again.”
    Sounds more like hope/possibility, less like a firm prediction.

In many emotional or delicate contexts, Japanese prefers the softer, possible/hopeful tone of ～できると思います.

Why is it できると思います and not できるだと思います?

You should not put だ between the clause and と思います when the clause already ends with a verb or い-adjective or potential form like できる.

Correct pattern:

  • [clause in plain form] + と + 思います

So:

  • 仲直りできると思います。 ✅
  • 仲直りできるだと思います。 ❌ (ungrammatical)

You only use だ before と思います when the clause needs a copula (i.e., it ends in a noun or な-adjective in plain style):

  • 学生だと思います。 → “I think (they are) a student.”
  • 元気だと思います。 → “I think (they are) fine/healthy.”

But here, できる is already a verb form, so no だ is needed or allowed.

Why is the verb できる in the present tense if the meaning is “will be able to make up (in the future)”?

Japanese non-past form (like できる) covers both present and future meanings. There is no separate future tense.

The actual time (present vs future) is understood from context:

  • 今は友達と仲直りできる。
    → “Right now, I can make up with my friend.” (present ability)

  • いつか友達と仲直りできると思います。
    → “I think I’ll be able to make up with my friend someday.” (future possibility)

In your sentence, the situation clearly refers to something that hasn’t happened yet but is expected/possible, so the natural English translation uses future (“will be able to”) even though Japanese just uses the non-past できる.

Can we add が after 仲直り (i.e., 仲直りができる)? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

  • 友達とまた仲直りができると思います。

This is also grammatically correct and natural. The difference:

  • 仲直りできる

    • Slightly more direct, fused form; very common in speech.
    • Focus is on the action as a whole: “can make up.”

  • 仲直りができる

    • Makes 仲直り the explicit subject of できる (“reconciliation is possible/possible to do”).
    • Sometimes feels a bit more emphatic or formal, or used when contrasting with something else.

In everyday conversation, dropping the が (→ 仲直りできる) is very common and sounds smooth and natural.

Could I change the word order, like 私はまた友達と仲直りできると思います? Is that okay?

Yes, that is acceptable and natural. Japanese word order is relatively flexible, as long as particles are correct.

Some natural variations:

  1. 私は友達とまた仲直りできると思います。
  2. 私はまた友達と仲直りできると思います。
  3. 友達とまた仲直りできると思います。 (dropping 私は)
  4. 友達と仲直りがまたできると思います。 (slight shift in emphasis)

Nuances:

  • Placing また before 友達と or before 仲直り doesn’t change the core meaning much here.
  • The most neutral-feeling version is probably the original:
    私は友達とまた仲直りできると思います。

All these are understandable; particles (は, と, が etc.) are far more important than strict word order.

How does the politeness level work here? How would this look in casual speech?

思います is the polite -ます form, so the whole sentence is in polite style.

Polite version (what you have):

  • 私は友達とまた仲直りできると思います。

Casual equivalents:

  1. Just change 思います → 思う:

    • 友達とまた仲直りできると思う。
      (Very common casual speech; 私 is usually dropped.)

  2. Even more direct, dropping と思う for a plain statement:

    • 友達とまた仲直りできる。
      “I can make up with my friend again.” (Sounds more certain/less hedged.)

So:

  • Use ～と思います when speaking politely or softening your opinion.
  • Use ～と思う casually with friends.
  • You can drop the whole と思う/と思います when you want to be more direct/assertive.