にする - Grammar Discussion

to decide on

Structure

  • Noun + に・する

View on Bunpro

Am I right in thinking that the basic difference for describing intent between ~にする and ~つもりだ is that the former only follows a noun and the latter only follows a verb?

Yeah that’s fine but I wouldn’t say that these two are particularly similar.

~にする is something you would generally use in a restaurant or something like that. Kind of like ‘I’ll go for…’
ステーキにする - I’ll go for the steak.

~つもりだ is used for something you plan to do. It could even be a long way in the future.
再来年日本に行くつもりだ - I plan to go to Japan the year after next.

I understand why you’ve said they’re similar but if I were you I’d try to separate them in your mind as they are completely different.

2 Likes

この赤あかい上着うわぎ~。

One of the ‘alternate grammar’ for this review lists ‘にしす’ as a possible answer, is this correct?

1 Like

Hey!

It was a typo, I have fixed it.:+1:

Thank you for the feedback and sorry for the inconvenience :bowing_man:

2 Likes

I am slightly confused with how the tense is inferred with にする. Does にする always represent a decision which has already been made?

このかばんにします。
To decide on this bag.
[the speaker has decided to buy this bag]

テストは月曜日にするって先生が言った。
The teacher said, “I have decided on Monday for the test.”

@deltacat3 Hey! にする implies that the speaker has made up their mind about something but the activities related to that something have yet to be carried out.

For example: このかばんにします。→ “I have decided (to buy) this bag.” In this example, the speaker has decided to buy the bag but has not yet made the purchase. If you were to say このかばんにしました。then the English would be “I decided on this bag” or “This is the bag that I decided on (and now own).”
@matt_in_mito made a great interpretation above:

You would use ステーキにした after you made the order and are telling a friend what you ordered or even after you ate and were telling someone your experience at the restaurant. I hope this helps. Cheers!

2 Likes

Thank you very much, that was very helpful! ヽ(^o^)丿

1 Like

is “今日の晩ごはんは何にするの?” incorrect? why?

It looks alright to me!

2 Likes

DBJG has a useful distinction on the difference between にする and に決める which might be worth mentioning.

2 Likes

hello @Jake!

I got a review on this together with “shall” (ましょうか), but this item comes after にする, so I was a bit lost on that.
is this an error? shouldn’t this only show up after I review ましょうか?

thanks!

1 Like

Hey @mielke
We will likely replace the sentence, by the way, if you tap on the ましょうか it will show the definition :slight_smile:

Cheers!

1 Like