Understanding the Volitional Form in Japanese
The volitional form in Japanese is like saying 'Let's do something' or 'I shall do something' in English. It's used when you want to express a desire or intention to do something, or to suggest doing something together with someone else.
How to Form the Volitional Form
In Japanese, verbs change their endings to show different meanings. To make the volitional form, you need to change the verb endings. Let's learn how to do this for different types of verbs.
Important Points
- For u-verbs: Change the last 'u' sound to 'ou'. For example, '書く' (kaku) becomes '書こう' (kakou).
- For ru-verbs: Drop the 'ru' and add 'you'. For example, '食べる' (taberu) becomes '食べよう' (tabeyou).
- For irregular verbs: 'する' (suru) becomes 'しよう' (shiyou), and '来る' (kuru) becomes '来よう' (koyou).
Using the Volitional Form
Once you've changed the verb to its volitional form, you can use it to invite someone to do something with you, or to express your own intention to do something.
In the examples above, you can see how the volitional form is used to suggest watching a movie, going to the beach, or doing homework together.
Remembering the Volitional Form
Practice using the volitional form with your friends or when you are planning your activities. This will help you remember and become more comfortable with it.