To say ‘as much as possible’ or ‘as much as you can’ in Japanese we take the standard potential form of the verb (usually the verb ‘to do’) and add だけ.

できるだけはやてほしい。
I want you to come as quickly as possible.
東京とうきょう観光地かんこうちについてできるだけ情報じょうほうあつめる。
Gather as much information as possible about tourist spots in Tokyo.

We can form this phrase using the potential form of verbs other than ‘to do’:

環境かんきょう意識いしきして、できるだけエネルギーを効率的こうりつてき使つかうようにする。
Be environmentally conscious and use energy as efficiently as possible.
かれ昨日きのうかいでおさけめるだけんだみたいなので、今日きょう二日酔ふつかよいでられない。
It seems he drank as much as possible at yesterday’s drinks so today he can’t come because of a hangover.
You May Also Like

How Difficult is Japanese?

If you’re thinking of learning Japanese then the chances are that you’re wondering: “Is Japanese really that difficult?”…

Speaking Objectively

Both にしては and わりには allow us to make statements about things in an objective manner. 彼は年の割に若く見えます。 He looks…

Simultaneous Actions: ~ながら vs ~間に

We have two basic ways of expressing simultaneous actions in Japanese, e.g. “I ate dinner while watching television”.…

I-Adjectives & Na-Adjectives

There are two types of adjectives in Japanese: i-adjectives and na-adjectives. The type of adjective is determined by…