〜ないものだろうか
JLPT N1:isn't there some way to
A thoughtful rhetorical question expressing a strong wish for a difficult improvement or solution.
How to form it
- Put ものだろうか after a negative plain form, often a potential verb: 減らせないものだろうか.
- The speaker wonders whether the desired outcome could somehow be made possible; it is more than a neutral yes-or-no question.
- ものだろうか may become ものか or ものでしょうか depending on register, but context must keep the wish clear.
Examples
この町の渋滞を減らせないものだろうか。
Isn't there some way we could reduce traffic in this town?
もっと簡単に手続きできないものだろうか。
I wonder if there isn't some way to make the procedure simpler.
Common mistakes
- Using it as a simple yes-or-no question with no wish.
- Confusing it with 〜ものか, which emphatically rejects an idea.
Same form, different meaning
- 〜ものかabsolutely not / as if
ものか strongly rejects an idea; ないものだろうか wishes that a solution might exist.