Grammar Notes 17 |
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1 |
しようと思っている: Thinking of V-ing |
You have already learned the polite volitional form …ましょう, which is often used to suggest doing something together:
In this lesson, you will learn the plain volitional form. It is used in casual suggestions and offers, and it is also used before と思う／と思っている to express the speaker's intention.
1. How to Form the Plain Volitional
For る-verbs, replace the final る with よう.
| る-Verbs |
| Dictionary |
Plain Volitional |
| たべる |
たべよう |
| みる |
みよう |
| かりる |
かりよう |
| Irregular Verbs |
| する |
しよう |
くる
|
こよう |
For う-verbs, change the final -u sound to the corresponding -ō sound. In kana, this is written with おう (or こう, そう, とう, etc.).
| う-Verbs |
| Dictionary |
Plain Volitional |
| いく |
いこう |
| いそぐ |
いそごう |
| はなす |
はなそう |
| まつ |
まとう |
| のむ |
のもう |
| しぬ |
しのう |
| あそぶ |
あそぼう |
| はいる |
はいろう |
| かう |
かおう |
2. Making a Suggestion: Vよう（か）
The plain volitional form can be used to suggest doing something together. It corresponds to the polite …ましょう. Adding か makes the suggestion sound more like a question: “Shall we ...?” These plain forms are commonly used in casual conversation with friends, family members, and others with whom plain-style speech is appropriate.
Polite
- A: どこかに食べに行きましょうか。 Shall we go somewhere to eat?
- B: ええ、そうしましょう。 Yes, let's do that.
Plain
- A: どこかに食べに行こうか。 Shall we go somewhere to eat?
- B: うん、そうしよう。 Yeah, let's do that.
3. Volunteering: 私が Vようか
When the speaker is offering to do something rather than suggesting a joint action, Vようか can mean “Shall I ...?”
Polite
- A: 私が行きましょうか。
Shall I go? / Would you like me to go?
- B: ええ、おねがいします。 Yes, please.
or
- B: いいえ、いいですよ。 No, that's okay.
Plain
- A: 私が行こうか。 Shall I go? / Would you like me to go?
- B: ええ、おねがい。 Yeah, please.
or
- B: ううん、いいよ。 No, that's okay.
4. Expressing an Intention: Vようと思う
The plain volitional form can be followed by と思う to express an intention or decision:
Vようと思う: “I think I'll V.” / “I'm going to V.”
The volitional form before と思う must be the plain volitional form. The polite …ましょう form cannot be used in this pattern.
- 行こうと思います。
I think I'll go. / I've decided to go.
- 日本語をもっと勉強しようと思います。
I think I'll study Japanese more.
- 来年、日本に行こうと思います。
I'm thinking of going to Japan next year.
With ～ようと思う, the speaker presents the intention as a decision or thought at the present moment. It does not necessarily mean that the decision was made just now, although it can have that meaning in an appropriate context.
5. Vようと思っている: “be thinking of V-ing” / “be planning to V”
When 思う appears as 思っている, the expression usually describes an intention that the person has already been considering or holding:
- 日本に行こうと思っています。
I'm thinking of going to Japan. / I'm planning to go to Japan.
- 来年、新しい車を買おうと思っています。
I'm thinking of buying a new car next year.
A useful general contrast is:
- 行こうと思います。 I think I'll go.
→ presents the intention or decision at the present moment
- 行こうと思っています。 I'm thinking of going. / I'm planning to go.
→ presents the intention as something that has been held or considered for some time
6. Whose Intention?
With …ようと思います, the subject is normally the speaker, because the sentence directly expresses the speaker's intention.
- 私は日本に行こうと思います。 I think I'll go to Japan.
With ～ようと思っています, the subject can be the speaker or another person because 思っている can describe an intention that someone is known to have.
- 私は日本に行こうと思っています。
I'm thinking of going to Japan.
- スミスさんは日本に行こうと思っています。
Ms. Smith is thinking of going to Japan.
For another person's intention, the statement normally needs some basis in context—for example, the person has said what they intend to do. 7. …つもりだ vs. …ようと思っている
Both patterns can express intention, but they view the intention somewhat differently.
| Intention |
Volition |
６時におきるつもりだ。
|
６時におきようと思っている。 |
| I intend to get up at six. |
I'm planning/thinking of getting up at six. |
| ６時におきないつもりだ。 |
--- |
| I intend not to get up at six. |
--- |
| ６時におきるつもりはない。 |
６時におきようとは思っていない。 ✅ |
| I have no intention of getting up at six. |
I'm not thinking of / planning to get up at six. |
…つもりだ directly states a person's intention or plan. It can be used with either an affirmative or a negative verb:
- 行くつもりだ。 I intend to go.
- 行かないつもりだ。 I intend not to go.
The volitional form itself, however, does not have a negative counterpart such as “not-go-volitional.” Therefore, there is no direct V ようと思う equivalent of 行かないつもりだ. To say that someone does not intend to do something, Japanese can instead negate the thought or intention:
- 行こうとは思っていない。 ✅
I'm not thinking of going. / I don't intend to go.
✅ Notice that the negative is placed on 思っている, not on the volitional verb. |
2 |
…予定です: Plans and Schedules |
予定 means a plan or schedule that has been decided in advance. The pattern V予定だ／です is used when an action or event is planned or scheduled to take place. A non-past plain-form verb, either affirmative or negative, comes before 予定.
- Plain-V 予定です: be planning/scheduled to V
- Vない予定です: be planning/scheduled not to V
Affirmative
- 来週、ニューヨークへ行く予定です。
I'm planning/scheduled to go to New York next week.
- 姉は６月にけっこんする予定です。
My older sister is planning to get married in June.
- 会議は３時に始まる予定です。
The meeting is scheduled to start at three.
予定 can describe either someone's personal plan or an event on a schedule. Therefore, unlike …つもりだ and …ようと思っている, the subject does not have to be a person who has an intention.
- 電車は９時に出る予定です。
The train is scheduled to depart at nine.
Negative
A negative plain-form verb can be used before 予定 to indicate that the plan is not to do something.
- あしたは学校に行かない予定です。
I'm planning not to go to school tomorrow.
- 今週はアルバイトをしない予定です。
I'm not planning to work at my part-time job this week.
Be careful about the difference between the following two patterns:
- 行かない予定です。
The plan is not to go.
- 行く予定はありません。
There is no plan to go.
The first describes a decided plan not to do something, while the second says that doing it is not currently planned. Noun + の予定
予定 can also follow a noun. In this pattern, the noun is followed by の.
- 土曜日にめんせつの予定があります。
I have an interview scheduled for Saturday.
- 来週は出張の予定です。
I'm scheduled to go on a business trip next week.
- 今日の予定は何ですか。
What's your schedule for today?
…予定がある
予定がある literally means “to have a plan/scheduled event.”
- 土曜日にめんせつの予定があります。
I have an interview scheduled for Saturday.
- あした、何かする予定がありますか。
Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?
In everyday conversation, 予定がある is also commonly used without specifying exactly what the plan is.
- A: 土曜日、ひま？
Are you free Saturday?
B: ごめん。ちょっと予定がある。
Sorry. I have plans.
Comparing つもり, ～ようと思っている, and 予定
All three patterns can refer to something in the future, but they focus on different aspects.
| Intention: …つもりだ |
Volition: …ようと思っている |
Schedule: …予定だ |
| ６時におきるつもりだ |
６時におきようと思っている |
６時におきる予定だ |
| I intend to get up at six. |
I'm thinking/planning to get up at six. |
I'm planning/scheduled to get up at six. |
| ６時におきないつもりだ |
No equivalent expression |
６時におきない予定だ |
| I intend not to get up at six. |
--- |
My plan is not to get up at six. |
| ６時におきるつもりはない |
６時におきようとは思っていない |
６時におきる予定はない |
| I have no intention of getting up at six. |
I'm not thinking/planning to get up at six. |
I have no plan to get up at six. |
The basic differences can be summarized as follows:
- …つもりだ focuses on the person's intention: “I intend to....”
- …ようと思っている focuses on what the person is thinking of or planning to do: “I'm thinking of....”
- …予定だ focuses on a plan or schedule that has been decided: “I'm planning to...” or “...is scheduled to....”
Because 予定 describes a plan or schedule rather than intention itself, it can also be used for events and things that do not have intentions:
- 飛行機
は午後３時につく予定です。
The plane is scheduled to arrive at 3:00 p.m.
In contrast, ✽飛行機は午後３時につくつもりです is normally not possible because an airplane cannot have an intention. |
3 |
Vておく: V in Advance/in Preparation |
The V て form + おく pattern describes an action that is done in advance in preparation for a later event, situation, or purpose.
The verb おく by itself is a う-verb meaning “to put/place something,” but in the Vておく pattern, the combination means “to do something in advance” or “to do something in preparation.”
- りょうしんが来るので、へやをそうじしておきました。
I cleaned my room in preparation for my parents' visit.
Here, the room was cleaned before the parents arrived so that it would be ready when they came.
- 日本へ行くから、パスポートをとっておかなくちゃいけない。
I have to get a passport in advance because I'm going to Japan.
In English, it is often unnecessary to translate the meaning of …ておく explicitly as “in advance.” The context may already make the preparatory meaning clear.
Contracted Forms
In casual speech, …ておく and …でおく are very commonly contracted:
| Full Form |
Contracted Form |
| Ｖておく |
Ｖとく |
| Ｖでおく |
Ｖどく |
| 読んでおく |
読んどく |
| 買っておく |
買っとく |
| しておく |
しとく |
The contracted forms are mainly used in casual conversation. In more formal speech and writing, the full forms are generally preferred.
- この本を読んどいてください。
Please read this book beforehand.
= この本を読んでおいてください。
- 台風が来るから、ラジオのでんちを買っといたほうがいい。
Since a typhoon is coming, we'd better buy some batteries for the radio in advance.
The Later Purpose May Be Left Unsaid
The situation for which someone is preparing does not always have to be stated. If it is clear from the context, …ておく by itself can indicate that something should be done now because it will be useful or necessary later.
- A: ホテル、もう予約した？
Have you reserved the hotel yet?
- B: ううん、まだ。
No, not yet.
- A: じゃあ、早く予約しておいたほうがいいよ。
Then you'd better make a reservation soon.
The speaker does not need to say explicitly what the reservation is preparation for because it is already clear from the conversation. |
Earlier, when we introduced family terms, we learned how to indicate the order of siblings by using …ばん目（…番目）:
- 一ばん目: first
- 二ばん目: second
- 三ばん目: third
- etc.
The suffix …目
is used to indicate the position of something in a sequence or order. In English, this often corresponds to ordinal expressions such as first, second, third, etc. Compare:
- 一ばん（１番）: number one
- 一ばん目（１番目）: the first one / first in order
- 二ばん（２番）number two
- 二ばん目（２番目）: the second one / second in order
- etc.
Counter + 目
…目 can also be added directly to many counter expressions. The counter tells us what is being counted, while 目 indicates which one in the sequence.
| Counter Expression |
Expression With …目 |
Meaning |
| 一つ、二つ、三つ… |
一つ目、二つ目、三つ目… |
first one, second one, third one… |
| 一人、二人、三人… |
一人目、二人目、三人目… |
first person, second person, third person… |
| 一本、二本、三本… |
一本目、二本目、三本目… |
first long object, second long object, third long object… |
| 一さつ、二さつ、三さつ… |
一さつ目、二さつ目、三さつ目… |
first book, second book, third book… |
| 一まい、二まい、三まい… |
一まい目、二まい目、三まい目… |
first sheet, second sheet, third sheet… |
| 一こ、二こ、三こ… |
一こ目、二こ目、三こ目… |
first small object, second small object, third small object… |
For example:
- 三つ目のしつもん: the third question
- 二人目の学生: the second student
- 四さつ目の本: the fourth book
Time and Order
～目 can also be used with expressions involving time or repeated events:
- 一日目、二日目、三日目…: the first day, second day, third day…
- 一週間目、二週間目、三週間目…: the first week, second week, third week…
- 一時間目、二時間目、三時間目…: the first period, second period, third period…
In a school context, 一時間目 usually means “first period” or “the first class period,” not simply “the first hour.”
- 一時間目は日本語です。 My first class/period is Japanese.
Thus, …目 does not simply count how many things there are. It identifies which item, person, day, event, etc. in an ordered sequence is being referred to. |
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