ものだ - Grammar Discussion

English translation:
supposed to
should
that’s the way it is

Structure:
Verb + ものだ
いAdj + ものだ
なAdj・な + ものだ

Explanation:
[used for emphasis, stating subjective beliefs/opinion or giving advice (closer to command) or a warning]

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I have made several errors with ものだ in a row and tried to dig into the rules to understand why I get it wrong all the time.
So in the Dictionary of intermediate Jap Grammar this structure is said to overlap with べきだ - though in a more general sense. Like, “this is in general what should be / expected to be done”, like in the example: Students should study (in general they should): 学生は勉強するものだ。
Then why in the ex below the correct answer is ものだ? This is a single-case situation (or particular situation), as I see it.

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@Kawazoe
Hey :grin:

Nice catch!

Actually, this sentence doesn’t really belong to this grammar point which is used to reprimand people of lower status or to express conviction. (And it will be changed in a few minutes.)

It is another use of もの、which expresses strong wish/desire. It generally follows ほしい and たい.

So the proper translation should be something like:

“If they are so amazing, I would like to really (try) meeting them.”

Sorry for the inconvenience! :bowing_man:

2 Likes

Ah, so that’s what it was!
Phew…
I was really worrying that I cannot get the variety of meanings of this point :sweat_smile:
Thank you for looking into it :bowing_woman:

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WHat is the difference between this and はずだ