つもりだ - Grammar Discussion

plan to・intend to

Structure

  • Verb + つもり + Optional だ
  • Verb + つもり + ない

  • Verb + つもり → (I) intend to
  • Verb[ない] + つもり → (I) intend not to
  • Verb + つもりはない → (I) do not intend to
  • Verb[ない] + つもりはない → (I) do not intend not to

:warning: つもりは ない

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I have a question about this review question:

Considering the last verb uses casual form, why is it つもりでした instead of つもりだった?

Question 2: How many review sentences are for the other forms (intend not to, not intend to, not intend not to)? I can’t remember seeing any of them yet and I’m up to SRS 6.

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Hey :bowing_man:

Considering the last verb uses casual form, why is it つもりでした instead of つもりだった?

That was an error on our side and thanks to you it has been fixed. However it will take a bit for new audio to be uploaded.

Thank you for notifying us about it. :+1::bowing_man:

Question 2: How many review sentences are for the other forms (intend not to, not intend to, not intend not to)? I can’t remember seeing any of them yet and I’m up to SRS 6.

There are two examples with negation.

By the way, it is a bit hard to express with translation but remember that つもりはない is simply stronger negation than ないつもり.

Cheers,

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You don’t know how happy this made me! This means I’ve started to understand Japanese grammar enough that what I think is strange can actually be an error and not just me lacking enough grammar!

Thanks. I haven’t really looked closely at the negation yet, it tends to start solidifying when it shows up in reviews which is why I asked. But I’ll keep that in mind. :slight_smile:

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風邪を引くつもりはなかった。

The で is dropped. As じゃ is a contraction of では it seems plausible that じゃなかった is wrong (just had that in a cram session). On the other hand, a Google search for ‘“つもりじゃなかった”’ yields 800k+ results.

Any explanation for that?

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I’m also wondering about why つもりじゃなかった is not accepted? I know じゃない is a contraction of ではない, but maybe the ない in つもりはない is the negative form of ある instead? If not, why is the で dropped?

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Is there an explanation as to why we can’t use で?

Also, the hint “didn’t intend” is a little misleading.

It makes you try to think of a verb that means “intend”, but “つもりだ” isn’t a verb that means “indent”, but a combination of a noun + a verb: “(my) intention is…”

My limited understanding is this:
〇〇つもりだ normal way to say “I intend to”
〇〇つもりはない normal way to say “I don’t intend to” (there is no 〇〇つもり)
And this is all the grammar point is concerned with.

With では instead of は it’s contrastive:
〇〇つもりではない … is not what I intend to do (it’s not a 〇〇つもり, but rather…)

E.g.
そんなつもりではなかった。 That’s not what I meant to do.
そんなつもりではないでしょうが、 … I know that’s not their/your intention, but…

I see that there is no exemple of sentence using つもりだ with a verb in past tense like this:

そのケーキを食べたつもりだ。

Which, I believe, means something like “I thought I ate that cake.”

Another example: https://tangorin.com/sentences/77031

Do you think it would be a good idea to add more sentences with a verb in paste tense or make another grammar point based on this?

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Hmm, I’ve never seen this before… interesting. This would probably have to be a different grammar point entirely since the meaning is different and it is probably aimed at a different JLPT level. Interesting though, thanks for the link.

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This is actually covered to some extent in the つもりで grammar point much later in N2. But maybe that one could use some examples closer to what you wrote too.

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@shary
@matt_in_mito
@nekoyama

When つもり is used with a verb in a past form (and sometimes with a verb in non-past form, depending on context) it expresses the speaker’s conviction or belief. Generally, it is contrary to reality. You can use this construction when defending yourself when blamed for something, or just show how strongly you believed for something to be the case (for example when having a deja vu). Often followed by けど、が、のに.

そのケーキを食べたつもりだ。
I am convinced I ate the cake. (but it’s here somehow, maybe deja vu, or someone put it here again, or I didn’t eat it at all)

《車の鍵を捜している》引き出しの中に置いたつもりだったけど・・・
look
When looking for a key (and being under the pressure of someone waiting):
I am convinced I put them inside the drawer, but (they are not there).

《上司に》 すでに修正版をお送りしたつもりですが
To a boss (after he asks you why you didn’t send the revised version yet):
"I am convinced I have sent it already, but (actually I didn’t)

You can also express what other person believes, it often has ironic nuance:
《友達との話》彼女は有名な女優のつもりらしいけど、広告に一回しか登場したことがない。(笑)
Conversation between friends: “She seems to be convinced that she is a famous actress, but she just played once in a commercial.” (laughter)

Another use is つもりで, which expresses that person you are talking about imagines herself to be in such and such position (when playing, watching movie, reading a book):
娘はウェイトレスになったつもりで、おもてなしごっこした。
My daughter played make-believe restaurant by imagining herself to be a waitress.

I hope it explains it a bit,
I will revamp the grammar points a bit later :+1:

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Thanks for the detailed explanation.

You are always very quick to respond and seem open to improve this already very exhaustive grammar data base.

I appreciate that. :slight_smile:

So why is there a warning sign next to “つもりではない”? Is that supposed to indicate that it’s incorrect? And if it’s incorrect, then why is it incorrect when “つもりじゃない” is apparently acceptable?

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Hey there! It’s basically because it would be a bit redundant.

つもり with just で comes off kinda like ‘the intention of ~ I’m intending’, whereas つもりはない and つもりじゃない just negate the つもり, so it’s ‘no intention of ~’.

Hope this clears it up!