かける, かけ, and たて
かける
About to
ます Stem + かける
かける can be used with almost any transitive verb ます stem; meaning “about to” or “Just started to“.
This かける is usually past tense; and its meaning is similar to たところ
Examples
- 食べかけたが、電話が鳴った – I started to eat but the phone rang.
- 殴りかけたところで、友達が止めた – Just when I was about to punch them, my friend stopped me.
- 諦めかけていたとき、彼が表れた – He appeared just when I had started to give up.
かけ
Started but not finished/Partially
Verb ます stem + かけ
The ます stem of かける is かけ, and it too attaches to the ます stem of a verb.
However, unlike かける, it expresses a state of “Started but not finished” or “Partially“
かけ tends to be used with only a few specific verbs.
Examples
- 食べかけのご飯 – Food that (someone) started eating.
- 食べかけのパン – Partially eaten bread. (Imagine a bite missing) (Identical meaning to sentence above).
- 死にかけの人を助けた – I saved a dying person.
- 書きかけの手紙 – Partially written letter.
- 読みかけの本 – Partially read book.
たて
Fresh Made
Verb ます stem + たて
Like かけ, たて attaches to the ます stem and is limited to a few specific words.
It is used for “Freshly made” things. In practice, this means its limited food creation words.
Of all the grammar you have learned up to N3 this is probably the one with the most limited scope, however it is still fairly common.
Examples
- 焼き立てのパン – Fresh baked bread.
- できたてのごはん – Freshly made food. (“Finished”)
- 作りたてのごはん – Freshly made food. (“Made”)
- 炊き立てのごはん – Freshly made rice. (“Steamed”)