~o shimasu / ~o mimasu
Japanese Lesson #13
verb 1: to do~ / to see~, to watch~
This month, you’ll begin lessons on verbs that multiply your expression patterns. Let’s begin with simple but frequently used verbs: “— o shimasu” (to do—) and “— o mimasu” (to see or watch). You have to keep two things in mind to practice these verbs.
1. Use the particle “o” to introduce an object.
2. Put the object before “o + verb.”
For example, the word order of “to play baseball” would be “baseball + o + play,” that is to say, “yakyuu o shimasu.”
Take a look at the following conversation between Sato-san and Tanaka-san about their weekend plans.
Sato: Ashita wa o-yasumi desu ne. Watashi wa gorufu o shimasu. Tanaka-san wa nani o shimasu ka. (It’s a holiday tomorrow. I’m planning to play golf. How about you, Tanaka-san?)
Tanaka: Eiga o mimasu. (I will see a movie.)
Sato: Nani o mimasu ka. (What movie?)
Tanaka: Miyazaki Hayao no anime o mimasu. (I’ll see Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film.)
Sato: Anime wa yoku mimasu ka. (Do you watch animated films often?)
Tanaka: Hai. Maishuu mimasu. (Yes. I watch them every week.)
You might notice that the verb “mimasu” above is used for both addressing future plans and habits or customs. Japanese use the same verb to express both future and present tenses. “Eiga o mimasu” can be both “I watch movies” and “I will watch movies.” You have to guess the tense during a conversation. People often use words implying tense such as ashita, shuumatsu, and raishuu, but most of the time you have to deduce the meaning from the context.
NEW WORDS
yasumi: break, day off, holiday, vacation
yoku: often, frequently maishuue: every week
shuumatsu: weekend raishuu: next week
