趣味は〜ことです

## What it means Adding こと after a verb turns that action into a noun, roughly like adding "~ing" in English. This lets you say things like "my hobby is reading books" by turning the verb "read" into a noun phrase. The same idea also gives you ことができます, meaning "can do ~".

## When to use it Attach こと directly after the **dictionary form** of a verb. 趣味は本を読むことです literally means "my hobby is the act of reading books". For ability, use the same trick: 泳ぐことができます means "I can swim" — dictionary form + ことができます.

## Don't confuse it with Don't confuse ことができます with plain できます used after a noun, like 日本語ができます ("I can speak Japanese"). できます alone attaches straight to a noun, but if you're starting from a verb, you first need こと to turn it into a noun before できます can attach — you can't say 泳ぐができます, it has to be 泳ぐことができます.