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「持てる力をふりしぼる。」

Does it mean "to be possesed" (just from 持てる) or "to can have" (potential,
from 持つ)? The context doesn't help, they're both fine to me.
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2022-02-08T02:12:10.000
93334
2022-02-08T12:24:36.430
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question
word-choice
What does 持てる mean in this sentence?
This 持てる is a [set phrase from classical
Japanese](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/42724/5010) which corresponds
to 持っている in modern Japanese ("perfective form" of 持つ, used attributively,
i.e., "which one has gained" or "who has gained [things]"). There is no
potential sense.

> 持てる力をふりしぼる  
>  = 持っている力をふりしぼる
>
> to use up all one's strength

Grammatically, it's the realis form (已然形) of 持つ followed by the attributive
form (連体形) of [り](https://www.hello-school.net/haroajapa009007.htm), an
auxiliary in classical Japanese.

Practically speaking, you can forget the classical grammar and just remember
this as a fixed (or ["fossil"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_word))
rentaishi that appears almost exclusively in the following patterns:

  * 持てる力, 持てる知識, 持てる能力, 持てる財産, ...  
(all) one's ～; all ～ one has

  * 持てる者, 持てる人, 持てる貴族, ...  
haves (as in "haves and have-nots"); wealthy/gifted ～

These correspond to the fourth and fifth definitions
[here](https://jisho.org/word/%E6%8C%81%E3%81%A6%E3%82%8B).

See also: [The meaning of
モテる](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/91118/5010)
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2022-02-08T02:37:09.390
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2022-02-08T12:24:36.430
5010
5010
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answer