Miss Yoshida asked Mr Lerner if he was going to join the
others at the picnic on the coming Saturday. He wanted
to join them, so he answered
meaning “Yes, I will go.” But, he wondered if he should
have used such an expression as
Ikoo to omoimasu.
Iku tsumori desu.
To indicate one’s intention of doing something in the future
there are several expressions that can be used. When one
is uncertain about the future oine uses the ...masu form,
as in
When you are accepting an invitation to go somewhere, you
should say Ikimasu rather than Ikimashoo. Ikimashoo is
used when you invite someone togo out with you or when
you have decided on going after thinking about it fo some
time. Replying Ikimashoo to an invitation can sound
condesending, implying “all right. I have decided to go
after all.” Therefore, one should avoid saying Ikimashoo
when one has to be polite.
..oo / ...yoo to omoimasu is used when you are especially
concious of your intentions. It is uased as in
Ashita ikoo to omoimasu.
(I intend to go tomorrow.)
Yomoo , yomoo to omoinagara made yonde imasen.
(I have been meaning to read it, but haven’t been
able to do so.)
...Tsumori desu is used when one is especially
concious of one’s plans, as in
Konshuu juu ni owaru tsumori desu.
(I plan to finish it by the end of the week.)
Sono tsumori datta-n da kedo...
(I was planning to do so, but....)
When you have to indicate your plans or intention
precisely, you should use ...tsumori desu or ...oo / ...yoo
to omimasu, but to indicate that you will accept an invitation,
...masu is most appropriate because it definitely shows that
you are ready to do it.
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