15966
Can't really understand this form:  
I've seen already this form with 考える and translated it like this:

> 考えうることだ - conceivable (possible)

However how do you translate with other verbs? is this some kind of potential?

> 1.人生の目的は何かという問題に対してみんなが納得しうる答えを出すのは難しい。
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2014-05-15T11:51:12.193
15962
2015-08-18T20:39:34.460
2014-10-20T02:38:48.477
5355
question
grammar translation verbs potential-form compound-verbs
Verb + うる form. What is this?
It's a variant reading of 得る【える】, and is used to indicate possibility. The
most common place I've seen this construction is in ありうる (or more frequently,
the frustrated exclamation ありえない！, which is along the lines of "It can't
be!").

If it has any additional nuances beyond simple possibility, I'm afraid I'll
have to leave that to a native speaker to clarify.
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2014-05-15T12:13:55.243
15965
2014-05-15T12:13:55.243
4914
15962
answer
Yes, ～うる (or ～える) can be thought of as a potential form. It's an auxiliary
that expresses "can", and it attaches to the continuative form (連用形) of a
verb. That's the same form of the verb you use before the polite auxiliary
～ます, so we get forms like these:

```

    　　ある　　　→　　ありうる  
    　　考える　　→　　考えうる  
    　　する　　　→　　しうる  
    
```

In kanji, this verb is written 得る, but in this auxiliary usage it's often
written in kana.

As an independent verb 得{う}る is now uncommon--得{う} became 得{え}る in modern
Japanese. But as an auxiliary expressing potentiality, both ～うる and ～える are
common, though ～うる may sound a little older/more literary than ～える.

Most conjugated forms besides ～うる itself begin with ～え, not ～う. So although
you'll see both ありえる and ありうる commonly enough, you'll only see ありえない and ありえて,
never *ありうない or *ありうて.
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2014-05-15T13:19:24.213
15966
2015-08-18T20:39:34.460
2015-08-18T20:39:34.460
15962
answer