EXPRESSING INTENTION IN JAPANESE

Wouldn’t it be such a shame to come to Japan and then not be able to discuss plans with your new friends!

Today’s lesson will give you some phrases that will help you express your intentions with your new mates.

INTENTION TO DO WITH つもり

Play つもり tsumori

INTENTION TO DO

INTENTION NOT TO DO

When you want to express the intention to do, or not to do a verb, you use the above forms. The main thing to remember here is that you never use the ます form of a verb with つもり.

You can also combine nouns, い-adjectives and な–adjectives with つもりas below:

These structures are more for expressing your intent for something to have been a certain way, rather than for planning in the future.

For example:

If you went shopping to buy full fat milk, but you get home and find you made a mistake and it was actually skimmed milk you bought, you might say:

PLAN TO WITH 予定

Play 予定 yotei

予定 means plan. You can use it in a sentence to express intention in exactly the same way as つもり.

INTENTION WITH ようと思う

Play ようと思う you to omou

This one is used to express I’m thinking of doing x. It has a slightly weaker nuance than つもりtsumori / 予定 yotei which are more like I intend to do x.

REVIEW || How to make volitional verbs

Here is a review of how to make the volitional form of verbs:

For Group 1 (うu verbs):

• Drop the final うu sound from the dictionary (plain) form of the verb.
• Add おうou to the verb stem.

Example:

行く iku to go
→ 行こう ikou Let’s go

For Group 2 (る ru verbs):

• Drop the final るru sound from the dictionary (plain) form of the verb.
• Add ようyou to the verb stem.

Example:

飲む nomu to drink
→ 飲もう nomou Let’s drink

For Irregular Verbs:

Irregular verbs have their unique rules for forming the volitional Form. The most common irregular verbs are する suru and 来る kuru:

• する suru to do → しよう shiyou Let’s do
• 来る kuru to come → 来よう koyou Let’s come

SUMMARY

• Use the dictionary form of verbs with つもり/ 予定 to convey your intended actions.

• Add はない / はありません to つもり/ 予定 to express your lack of intention to do an action.

• ようと思う can be used to express how you’re thinking of doing x.

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