タグ: tsumori

As to expressing one’s will, there are two sentence constructions that are introduced in beginners’ level. One is introduced in A3, and the other is in A5 which we are learning today.

1. Kyou no Yoru, Repo’oto o Kakou to Omotte imasu. (I am thinking about writing a report tonight.) — A3; [Verb in Volitional form]+to Omotte imasu.

2. Kyou no Yoru, Repo’oto o Kaku Tsumori desu. (I intend to write a report tonight.) — A5; [V-dic/V-nai] Tsumori desu.

Here is a caveat which is applied to both expressions. The subject of the sentence must be “Watashi”. In other words, only when you say your will, these two expressions are applicable with the subject “Watashi (I)”. You can say your own will, but cannot say other people’s will directly as if saying your will. Although the subject doesn’t appear in the sentence 1 and 2, it must be “Watashi.”

Then, let’s check the difference between the sentence 1 and 2. The sentence 1 ends with “-imasu.” Therefore, 1 is a verb predicate sentence. But the sentence 2 end with “Tsumori desu”. Although the English translation of 2 is a verb sentence (I intend …), the sentence 2 is a noun predicate sentence. It is neither I- nor Na- adjective sentences because it has the following structure;

[Kaku=V-dic]+ Tsumori +desu.

If “Tsumori” is an adjective, the verb in front cannot be in dictionary form.

Given that “Tsumori” is a noun, I think there are two issues to talk about.

<1> The sentence construction “[V-dic]+ Tsumori desu” doen’t need to learn new conjugation. On the other, “[V-volitional]+to Omotte imasu” needs to learn a lot of new conjugation. It usually ends up like most learner prefer the former to the latter.

<2> Although the sentence construction “[V-dic]+ Tsumori desu” is a noun predicate sentence, “Subject equals Predicate” does not hold true. Look at the simple noun predicate sentence 3;

3. Watashi wa Daigakusei desu. (I am a university student.)

In the sentence 3, “I” and “students” are both human kinds. So, “subject equals predicate” is true in the sentence 3. But what about next one?

4. Watashi wa Repo’oto o Kaku Tsumori desu.

=> [Literal translation] = I am the intention to write a report.

“I” is a human kind, but “intention” is an abstract concept. Can {“I” equals “intention”} be true? But in Japanese, this kind of noun predicate sentences really exist. One extreme example is as follows. Guests are gathering and the host is asking what they want to drink. One person answers “Watashi wa Ko’ora desu.” Is it real that a person is cold liquid with brown color and foaming? No, the guest says that what he/she wants to drink is a cup of Cola. It is possible to think that “Watashi wa Ko’ora desu.” is an abbreviation of “Watashi wa Ko’ora ga Nomi tai desu.” or “Watashi ga Nomitai mono wa Ko’ora desu.”. But anyway, “Subject equals to the predicate, vice versa” is not applied to some noun predicate sentences of Japanese.

The lengthy argument above comes from the noun “Tsumori”. When putting a verb clause just in front of Tsumori, a verb becomes dictionary form or Nai-form according to the meaning. If Ta-form or V-nakatta is used, the sentence could not be the sentence to express your will. Therefore, the cases of dictionary form and Nai-form are presented below;

<Dictionary-Form+Tsumori desu>

5. Watashi wa Shourai Nihon ni Ryuugaku-shuru Tsumori desu.

(I intend to be an international student in Japan in the future.)

6. Watashi wa Kotoshi mo N-1 no Shiken o Ukeru Tsumori desu.

(I have a will to take the N-1 test this year also.)

<Nai-Form+Tsumori desu>

7. Watashi wa Sotsugyou Shitemo, Kaisha ni Shuushoku-shinai Tsumori desu.

(Even after I graduate, I will not get a job in a company.)

As to the conjunctive particle “-temo”, refer to the Section 25. The verb “Shuushoku-suru” is an intransitive verb. Therefore, “(WRONG) Kaisha o Shuushoku-suru” is wrong, the right one is “Kaisha ni Shuushoku-suru”.

8. Watashi wa Mou Nidoto Kare ni Awanai Tsumori desu.

(I will never meet my boyfriend again.)

The verb “Au/Aimasu” is an intransitive verb. Therefore, “(WRONG) Kare o Au” is wrong, the right one is “Kare ni Au”.

Now that you have known two sentence constructions to express your will; one uses volitional form of verbs, the other uses the noun “Tsumori”. Then the question would be the difference between the two and how to select one of two for proper use. Which expresses a stronger will or determination? For this issue, please check yourself. I hope you will find an answer.

————————————–

This post was written with reference to the exercise A5 on Section31 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”