Last time, you learned how to express desires like “テレビが欲しい (I want a TV),” and “テレビが見たい (I want to watch TV).” Now, you know how to say what you want to do. Then, if you would like to say “I intend to buy a TV,” what should it be? In this lesson, you will tackle how to express volition.
Explanation for How to Express Volition
Volition means acts of will, or decisions made by a person’s will. In order to express it, Japanese has a particular form called “volitional form.” Let’s learn the form along with other similar expressions.
Volitional Form: …（よ）う
This can actually be utilized for making invitations and offers. We will focus on expressing volition here. First, take a look at the conjugation.
Ru-verb: To Replace ru with you or mashou
| Volition | Volition (Polite) | |
|---|---|---|
| 見る (miru) | 見よう (miyou) | 見ましょう (mimashou) |
| 着る (kiru) | 着よう (kiyou) | 着ましょう (kimashou) |
| 食べる (taberu) | 食べよう (tabeyou) | 食べましょう (tabemashou) |
| 答える (kotaeru) | 答えよう (kotaeyou) | 答えましょう (kotaemashou) |
U-verbs: To Replace u with ou or imashou
| Volition | Volition (Polite) | |
|---|---|---|
| 書く (kaku) | 書こう (kakou) | 書きましょう (kakimashou) |
| 話す (hanasu) | 話そう (hanasou) | 話しましょう (hanasimashou *si = shi) |
| 立つ (tatu *tu = tsu) | 立とう (tatou) | 立ちましょう (tatimashou *ti = chi) |
| 飲む (nomu) | 飲もう (nomou) | 飲みましょう (nomimashou) |
Two Exceptions
| Volition | Volition (Polite) | |
|---|---|---|
| する (suru) | しよう (shiyou) | しましょう (shimashou) |
| 来る (kuru) | 来よう (koyou) | 来ましょう (kimashou) |
The volitional form expresses what you are willing to do and therefore you cannot apply the negative form or the ta-form to it.
Examples
| [私は / が] | あのテレビを | 買おう / 買いましょう |
| [Topic / Subject] | Direct Object | Verb: Volitional Form |
| [I] will buy that TV over there. *Talked to yourself when you find a good TV during shopping. |
||
The basic function is to express volition which is used when you make a resolution or a decision and talk to yourself. When you use this with other people, it will indicate an invitation like “let’s do it.” Thus, when you would like to just tell your volition to others, you need to utilize the quotation marker と with verbs like “思う: to think.” If you say 思っている, it indicates you made a decision a while ago and are continuously willing to do so. By contrast, the plain form: 思う indicates a decision is made on the spot.
| 京都に行こう。 [I] will go to Kyoto. *Talked to yourself when the idea to go to Kyoto suddenly occurred to you. |
| 京都に（行こう / 行きましょう）。 Let’s go to Kyoto. *Said when you ask your friend to go to Kyoto with you. |
| 京都に行こうと思って（いる / います）。 [I] am going to Kyoto. *Said when you are asked “what will you do this weekend? |
As you can see, the contexts are important. Here is another example.
| 本を書こう。 [I] will write a book. *Said to yourself when you decide to write a book. |
| 本を（書こう / 書きましょう）。 Let’s write a book. *Said when you ask your friend to write a book with you. |
| 本を書こうと（思う / 思います）。 [I] will write a book. *Said when you tell your resolution to your friend. |
Difference between the Plain Form and the Volitional Form
| 結婚（する / します）よ。 [I] am going to get married. (*Fixed plan) |
| 結婚しようと思って（いる / います）。 [I] am going to get married. (*Unfixed plan) |
| 結婚しようかと思って（いる / います）。 [I] am thinking about getting married. |
The background behind the above examples is something like you are talking about marriage with your friend. Then, if you use the plain form, it means future tense and indicates a fixed plan. If you use the volitional form + と思う, it certainly indicates your will, but the plan is not fixed. If you attach か to the volitional form, it indicates that your decision is yet to be made.
つもりだ: to Intend to Do
| [私は / が] | 来年 | 転職するつもり（だ / です） |
| [Topic / Subject] | Temporal Noun | Verb + つもりだ |
| [I] intend to change [my] job next year. | ||
The function is to express what you intend to do. One important point here is that the decision should have been made a while ago. Therefore, you cannot use this for decisions made on the spot.
| お酒をやめるつもり（だ / です）。 [I] intend to quit drinking. |
| 明日は家にいるつもり（だ / です）。 As for tomorrow, [I] intend to stay at home. |
| 海外の大学に行くつもり（だ / です）。 [I] intend to go to a foreign university. |
As you learned above, the volitional form + と思っている indicates you made a decision a while ago and are continuously willing to do so. That is to say, it’s very similar to つもりだ. However, つもりだ more strongly express your will. For example, if you seriously say “I will become a singer in the future,” the second example below is more suitable.
| 将来、歌手になろうと思って（いる / います）。 |
| 将来、歌手になるつもり（だ / です）。 => Stronger than the above |
There are two negative expressions. The first is to conjugate verbs into the negative form and the second is to replace だ of つもりだ with はない. The first one is frequently used because the second one sounds strong and is suitable to refuse something.
| 謝らないつもり（だ / です）。 [I] don’t intend to apologize. |
| 謝るつもりは（ない / ありません）。 => Stronger than the above |
Difference between つもりだ and 予定だ
| 日本語を勉強するつもり（だ / です）。 [I] intend to study Japanese. |
| 日本語を勉強する予定（だ / です）。 [I] have a schedule to study Japanese. |
With the above examples, the result should be the same: to study Japanese. However, the process is different. 予定 indicates “plan” or “schedule” and doesn’t indicate your feelings. Therefore, when you express your volition, you have to use つもりだ and vice versa.
Other Usage of the Volitional Form: …（よ）うとする
| 田中さんは | 早く | 寝ようと（した / しました） |
| Topic / Subject | Adverb | Volitional Form + とする |
| Tanaka-san attempted to go to bed early. | ||
The volitional form + とする indicate attempts at doing something. When you use this, attempts should be uncompleted or failed. If you would like to plainly say “I try to do it,” you need to use the te-form + みる.
| よく宿題をサボろうと（する / します）。 [I] often attempt to neglect [my] homework. |
| 子供は嘘をつこうと（する / します）。 Children attempt to lie. |
| ゴミを捨てようと（した / しました）。 [I] attempted to throw away the trash. |
| 窓を開けようと（した / しました）。 [I] attempted to open the window. |
This sentence pattern can be even applicable for non-volitional verbs such as “降る: to fall” and “壊れる: to break.” This is often used in progressive tense and it indicates something is about to happen.
| 雨が降ろうとして（いる / います）。 It is about to rain. |
| 橋が壊れようとして（いた / いました）。 The bridge was about to break. |
Summary
- The volitional form indicates talking to yourself or invitations.
- The volitional form should be used with と思う when telling your volition to someone.
- つもりだ indicates what you intend to do.
- The volitional form + とする indicates attempts which are uncompleted or failed.
We guess that the usages of volitional form can be difficult for English speakers to master. In fact, there are some people who try to use only つもりだ to express volition. However, there are some situations in which the volitional form is more suitable. Thus, please learn both of them here. Next, you will learn the utilization of the volitional form: how to express invitations and offers.
