Mini-Dialogue 5: Making Plans
Plan a weekend outing with friends.
Making Weekend Plans
It is Friday afternoon. You and your friend are chatting about what to do this weekend. You want to suggest going to a movie or a park, and you need to coordinate your schedules.
しゅうまつ、なにをしますか。
週末、何をしますか。
What will you do this weekend?
まだきめていません。
まだ決めていません。
I haven't decided yet.
えいがをみにいきましょう。
映画を見に行きましょう。
Let's go see a movie.
いいですね。ちけっとをかってください。
いいですね。チケットを買ってください。
That sounds good. Please buy the tickets.
Planning Grammar
To make plans, we use the polite verb forms we have learned. We use '〜ましょう' to suggest an action and '〜てください' to make a request.
Tip
Planning in Action
Here are some common ways to use these structures when making plans.
公園に行きましょう。
Let's go to the park.
ここで待ってください。
Please wait here.
一緒に昼ご飯を食べ【ましょう】。
Hint: The 'let's' form.
Let's eat lunch together.
Nuance and Register
These forms are polite and appropriate for use with friends, classmates, or acquaintances.
Requests
〜てください
Polite, standard request.
食べてください
〜て
Casual request (friends only).
食べて
Which form is most appropriate for a polite invitation to a teacher?
- 映画を見よう
- ✓ 映画を見ましょう
〜ましょう is the polite form for 'let's'. 〜よう is casual.
Deep Dive: Negative Requests
Sometimes you need to ask someone NOT to do something.
How to say 'Please don't'
Lesson Recap
We have covered how to suggest activities using '〜ましょう', make requests using '〜てください', and describe the purpose of moving to a location using '〜に行く'. These are essential tools for coordinating your social life in Japanese.