I can invite someone to an event and answer an invitation: when ＋ に, where ＋ で, what ＋ があります; …いっしょにいきませんか; いいですね; …はちょっと….
Inviting and answering: ～ませんか and ～ましょう
Inviting and answering: ～ませんか and ～ましょう
In this lesson you'll learn to invite someone to an event and to answer an invitation politely.
An event: when ＋ に, where ＋ で, what ＋ が あります. It's the same あります as “there is”, but for an event it means “takes place, will be held”. The place of an event takes で, not に: something happens there.
To invite, ask a negative question: いっしょにいきませんか。 Like English “Won't you…?” or “Why don't we…?”, it's an ordinary polite invitation, not a doubt, and it doesn't call for いいえ.
To accept: いいですね or ぜひ. Once you've agreed, say ましょう (“let's”): いきましょう。 English can open an invitation with “Let's…”; in Japanese you invite with the question first, and ～ましょう comes after the “yes”.
A polite refusal is left unfinished: どようびはちょっと… The sentence ends there; finishing it would sound blunt. You can add またこんど (“maybe another time”).
Going somewhere to do something: the ます form without ます ＋ に ＋ いきます: たべにいきます, かいにいきます. An event goes straight before に: はなみにいきます.
Common mistakes:
• NOT かいしゃにパーティーがあります → かいしゃでパーティーがあります.
• NOT コンサートをあります → コンサートがあります.
• NOT いきませんか read as “Aren't you going?” — it's an invitation.
• NOT どようびはだめです in reply to a friend → softer: どようびはちょっと…
When, where, and what's on
An event that “is on, will take place” — あります; the place of the event takes で.
| When ＋ に | Where ＋ で | What ＋ が | Verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| にちようびに | がっこうで | しあいが | あります |
| 15日に | かいしゃで | パーティーが | あります |
Inviting and agreeing
First you invite with the question ～ませんか; you say ～ましょう once you've agreed.
| You invite | You've agreed |
|---|---|
| いっしょにかえりませんか。 | いっしょにかえりましょう。 |
| “yes”: いいですね／ぜひ | “no”: ちょっと…／またこんど |
Going somewhere to…
Verb without ます ＋ に ＋ いきます. An event — just ＋ に ＋ いきます.
| How to say it | What it means |
|---|---|
| みにいきます | go to see |
| たべにいきます | go to eat |
| かいにいきます | go to buy |
| はなみにいきます | go to hanami |
Lesson notes
Inviting and answering: ～ませんか and ～ましょう
In this lesson you'll learn to invite someone to an event and to answer an invitation politely.
An event: when ＋ に, where ＋ で, what ＋ が あります. It's the same あります as “there is”, but for an event it means “takes place, will be held”. The place of an event takes で, not に: something happens there.
To invite, ask a negative question: いっしょにいきませんか。 Like English “Won't you…?” or “Why don't we…?”, it's an ordinary polite invitation, not a doubt, and it doesn't call for いいえ.
To accept: いいですね or ぜひ. Once you've agreed, say ましょう (“let's”): いきましょう。 English can open an invitation with “Let's…”; in Japanese you invite with the question first, and ～ましょう comes after the “yes”.
A polite refusal is left unfinished: どようびはちょっと… The sentence ends there; finishing it would sound blunt. You can add またこんど (“maybe another time”).
Going somewhere to do something: the ます form without ます ＋ に ＋ いきます: たべにいきます, かいにいきます. An event goes straight before に: はなみにいきます.
Common mistakes:
• NOT かいしゃにパーティーがあります → かいしゃでパーティーがあります.
• NOT コンサートをあります → コンサートがあります.
• NOT いきませんか read as “Aren't you going?” — it's an invitation.
• NOT どようびはだめです in reply to a friend → softer: どようびはちょっと…