Author: Steven

Lesson 14 – How To Express Should Using べき・はずだ

During this lesson, you will be taught how to express the feeling of “should” or “ought to.” Since Japanese is a suggestive language this grammar point will prove to be especially useful in your Japanese learning journey.

 

There are two ways to express should in the Japanese language, and while the two of these grammar points are extremely similar there is still a distinction.

1. べきだ

Think of べきだ as a casual way to express “should.” It is more casual because rather than expressing the listener’s judgment, it expresses the speaker’s judgment. You should not use べきだ when suggesting what someone else “must do.” It can be used as a soft suggestion for what they can do. Overall べきだ is a balance between formal statement and slack suggestions.

Conjugations

べき follows verbs in their plain dictionary form. It is always accompanied by the ender だ。It can be conjugated into present positive or negative depending on the situation.

Verb Dictionary Form + べきだ

Verb Dictionary Form + べきじゃない

Verb Dictionary Form + べきじゃなかった

Irregular Verb する（す） ＋ べき・べきじゃなかった・べきじゃない

 

Examples

試験があるからなんか食べるべきだ。

Since I have an exam I should eat something.

 

髪の毛が洗うべきだ。

I should wash my hair.

 

新しい映画はいっしょうにいくべきだ

We should see that new movie together.

 

病気になったなので、薬を飲むべきだ。

I should take my medicine since I am sick.

 

そんなこと言うべきじゃなかった。

You should not have said those things.

 

一人で宿題をすべきだった

You were supposed to do your homework by yourself.

 

誰も結婚すべきじゃない!

You should not just marry anybody!

 

2. はずだ

If はず were to be compared to an English meaning, the closest term used to describe it would be “assumption.” Unlike べきだ、はずだ is used when the person has enough knowledge and experience about the noun being changed. It is more of a ‘predictive’ grammar form when matched up with べきだ。

Conjugations

はずだ is actually a noun itself, but it is never used alone. It can be used by adding it the end of a sentence after the conjugated verb or adjective.

Noun + はずだ

Verb + はずだ

～はずがない (Negative Form)

Examples

この本の読み方は難しくなかったはずだった。

This book was not so hard to read. (Having experienced the book)

彼はしているはずがない。

He should know that (judging on what I know he knows)

お母さんはそろそろ来るはずだ。

My mom should be here soon (judging on the information that I know already).

 

This grammar point is simple and works very well when in suggestive situations. But, always be careful when using べきだ as it should not be used for speaking to someone who is higher in status than you. Let us try an exercise to test your knowledge of べき・はず

 

 

 

Homework

What should you do in the following scenarios?

Use your imagination, but stick to the script ?

Answer In Japanese.

 

You are sick, and your doctor gives you medicine…

Your friend has no money…what should you do?

You want to buy a car in your favorite color. (Your color is red)

You need to wash your hair because you have a party to go to tomorrow.

 

 

Answer Key (Answers may vary)

薬を飲むべきだ。

友達にお金を貸すべきだ。

赤車を買うべきだ。

すぐに髪の毛を洗うはずだ。

 

 

Introduction

Hello everyone! This lesson we’ll be discussing some a little bit off the standard path we’ve been taking so far. But, it can still be considered an essential part of language learning, especially in such an expressive language like Japanese. Today we’ll be looking at adverbs of time that you can use to express your Japanese more, naturally.  Adverbs are everywhere in Japanese and you’re bound to hear at least 2 of them in a structured sentence at any given point in time.

In This Lesson

You’ll learn a list of super helpful adverbs that can be used in just about any situation.

-Adverbs of Time

じかんのふくし

Adverbs of Time

Japanese Adverbs 副詞（ふくし）	English Translation
1.      後(あと)で	Later
2.      今(いま)	Now
3.      前(まえ)	Before
4.      まだ	Still, Yet
5.      ここ	Here
6.      そこ	There
7.      あそこ	Over There
8.     どこでも	Everywhere
9.     どこか	Anywhere
10.  どこにも～ない	Nowhere
11.  今夜(こんや)	Tonight
12.  昨夜(さくや)	Last night
13.  今朝(けさ)	This morning
14.  明日(あした)	Tomorrow
15.  今日(きょう)	Today
16.  昨日(きのう)	Yesterday

In order to use adverbs of time, you have to be aware of sentence order. Good thing for you is that sentence order in Japanese doesn’t really matter once your sentence makes coherent sense (this is another lesson entirely).

Example of Using Adverbs of Time

勉強(べんきょう)をする後(あと)で寝(ね)ます。

I will go to bed after studying

今、ここにいます。

I’m here now.

彼(かれ)はどこでもとどこにもない。

He is everywhere and nowhere.

Do you see what I mean when I say that adverbs can go どこか in a sentence? Just be sure they make sense at the end of the day and that your grammar is correct.

When To Use Adverbs of Time In Japanese

I’m sure as some of you may be aware, Japanese is a language where saying less means saying more. The more concise you be while using as little detail as possible will work out to your benefit. Meaning that if you choose to use a time adverb you’ll be contracting the details of what you want to say or write. Here are some examples.

八時午後(はちじごご)に公園(こうえん)に歩(ある)きました。＝ 今夜公園(こんやこうえん)に歩(ある)きます。

At 8 pm I am walking to the park = Tonight I am walking to the park.

Substituting the exact time for a general portion of the day may be less precise, but it still gets your message across.

かどでテーブルにいます。＝ あそこのテーブルにいます

I’ll be at the table in the corner = I’ll be at that table over there.

Another way you can use adverbs of time is to replace a specific location with a general direction.

 

Homework

Now that you’ve learned some of the basics to time adverbs, you should be able to find your way around a conversation with our good friends Takeshi and Mary.

Find the time adverbs used in the following dialogue. After finding the adverbs, do your best to accurately translate the scenario.

メアリ：ね、たけしさん、何でいつだって勉強するあとで寝ますか？

たけし：ずるいだ！今回(こんかい)だっけ、明日(あした)は期末試験(きまつしけん)がありました。

メアリ：ああ、そうですか。じゃ、今何をしていますか。

たけし：あの。。。今夜(こんや)デ(で)ート(と)をします。だから、今準備(いまじゅんび)をします。

メアリ：えええええ！デートだと？じゃ、本当に信じいられないので、準備後(じゅんびあと)でこの人(ひと)の写真(しゃしん)を私(わたし)に現(あらわ)れせてもらってください。

Okay, Mary and Takeshi are a bit of a handful in this scenario, so if you don’t understand some of the words they are using I’m here to help!

現(あらわ)れせてもらってください – Please show me

準備(じゅんび) – Preparations

期末試験(きまつしけん) – Final Exam

 

 

Answer Key

メアリ：ね、たけしさん、何でいつだって勉強するあとで寝ますか？

たけし：ずるいだ！今回(こんかい)だっけ、明日(あした)は期末試験(きまつしけん)がありました。

メアリ：ああ、そうですか。じゃ、今何をしていますか。

たけし：あの。。。今夜(こんや)デ(で)ート(と)をします。だから、今準備(じゅんび)をします。

メアリ：えええええ！デートだと？じゃ、本当に信じいられないので、準備後(じゅんびあと)でこの人(ひと)の写真(しゃしん)を私(わたし)に現(あらわ)れせてもらってください。

メアリ：Takeshi, why do you always go to sleep after you study?

たけし：That’s not fair! It was that one time only. Besides, yesterday I had a final exam.

メアリ：Oh, is that so. Well, what are you up to now?

たけし：Well…. I have a date later so I’m getting ready.

メアリ：REALLLYYYY!!!??? Did you just say a date? Well after you’re done getting ready, you’ll have to show me a picture of this person’s face, because I really don’t believe you.

Introduction

Konnichiwa! The last lesson taught you to express what you did last week, so now you know how to explain to your friends that you’re not a “total” loser. You can tell them that you went to that awesome rock concert or that packed street festival. This lesson will focus on future intent and will introduce you to the grammar particle つもり and おう/よう。

Before we continue it is important to note that both grammar particles technically mean the same thing, however, the one difference is the formality.

つもり is more formal than おう・よう

The importance of this grammar point lies in its abilities to express specifics rather than just the future tense.  Sure, you can always use ～ます or the dictionary form of the verb to express future tense, but it will lack intent, and intent is what you want in a language where saying less means saying more.

Let’s look at this grammar particle in action through a conversation between Mary and Takeshi

Conversation

メアリ：たけしさん、今日(きょう)はどこ行(い)くつもりですか。

たけし：あの。。。池袋(いけぶくろ)で祭(まつ)りがあります。もしかした、行(い)きます。

メアリ：一人(ひとり)で行(い)くつもりですか。寂しいそうだよ。。。

たけし：そんな！メアリさん一生に行くつもりでした？

メアリ：当たり前だ。私たちは友達でしょう？

Translation

Mary: Takeshi, where are you planning on going today?

Takeshi: Well… there is a festival in Ikebukuro. Perhaps, I’ll go.

Mary: Do you plan on going alone? That sounds so lonely…

Takeshi: No…Nothing like that! Mary, did you plan on going with me?

Mary: Obviously! We are friends, aren’t we?

 

Okay so clearly Mary has some attachment issues, but let’s break this conversation down grammatically.

The つもり grammar particle is attached to the end of a verb in its dictionary form, and it can be used in past tense form as well. In the dialogue, we see 行くつもり and 行くつもりでした。

 

Remember dictionary from + つもりです・だ (だ is short form)

For the short form of つもり, it’s a bit trickier but there is a sure way to master it. おう is for u verbs and よう is for ru verbs, simply drop the u or the ru and add おうor よう

 

Here is a table of example verbs and the つもり/ おう。よう grammar particle

 

Verb	Verb Type	Tsumori	Ou-you
食(た)べる	ＲＵ－ ＶＥＲＢ	食べるつもり	食べよう
買(か)う	Ｕ－ ＶＥＲＢ	買うつもり	買おう
飲(の)む	Ｕ－ ＶＥＲＢ	飲むつもり	飲もう
する	ＩＲＲ- VERB	するつもり	しよう
来(く)る	ＩＲＲ – VERB	来るつもり	こよう

 

All, except for the last two being する and くる follow the pattern mentioned above. する and 来る are irregular verbs. Meaning they act differently from other verbs, so try and add a bit more extra effort to memorize those readings!

 

Homework

Takeshi and Mary are at a restaurant having dinner, can you translate their conversation into Japanese using the new grammar you just learned? Feel free to use long or short form ?. Good luck!

Takeshi: Mary, what do you plan on eating?

Mary: Maybe, I’ll get the potatoes and chicken

Takeshi: Oh, I see, that sounds delicious

Mary: What about you Takeshi?

Takeshi: Ummm… last week I started a new diet so I only plan on drinking red wine.

(See the answer key below if you need help)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer Key

たけし：メアリさん、何を食べるつもり。食べようですか？

メアリ：多分、ジャガイモと鶏肉です。

たけし：そうですか．美味しそうだね。

メアリ：たけしさん、あなたわ？

たけし：あの。。。先週、新しいダイエット始めたから、赤ワイン飲むつもり。飲もうです。