I’ve seen to suru in the grammar pattern “you + to suru” but I’ve js learned it can be used in other ways. So, besides that one pattern listed on bunpro, what else does it mean? I looked it up on Jisho before making this post, but I got around 7 or so different definitions, and I dont know abt yall, but I can’t compartmentalize all that lol
Hmm, well, there are multiple grammar structures that use “you” in this way, and knowing a couple of them might help with familiarising yourself with what “you” does in such sentences. For example, there are:
〇〇ように言う
somethingsomething you ni iu
Telling somebody to do something
Ex: heya wo katadzukeruyou ni itta! 部屋を片付けるように言った！ I told you to tidy your room!
〇〇ように祈る
somethingsomething you ni inoru
Praying that something will turn out that way
Ex: shiken wo goukakushiyou ni inoru. 試験を合格しように祈る。I pray you will pass the exam.
〇〇ようになる
somethingsomething you ni naru
Something came to be a certain way
Ex: nattou ga suki you ni natta. 納豆が好きようになった。I came to like natto.
You kinda have to get a feeling for it, but in all these patterns, “you” indicates something like an intended/targeted situation. Or a target state or something like that. “you to suru” is simply one of the most common ones. If you approach it as if it means “to do (する) things to reach the intended situation (よう)”, it starts becoming clear why it means “to try”.
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I think this is one of those things where you just have to take each point as it comes tbh- trying to get them all in one go will just drive you crazy
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今日の気，狂気 .
Don’t try to memorize all of them all at once. Each usage of とする is generally considered a separate grammar point. When you come across one you don’t understand, look it up, and pay attention to what words are in front of it to help make that easier. Often they will be part of the head word for that grammar point (as in the case of ようとする). Don’t force yourself to memorize it, looking it up is enough. Eventually you will come to recognize it when you see it
Do this enough, with each separate grammar point, and you’ll eventually get an intuitive sense of what とする means.
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