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m4x30000 (Offline)
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Little language help ! - 07-29-2010, 02:59 AM

Hi !

I would need some help explaining a verb form which I did not see anywhere, I got a message from a friend with the following : "明日から東京へ行くことになりそうです!" -- What bugs me is the "ことになりそうです!", I've seen on a website the form "koto ni shimasu/suru", but haven't found anything for "koto ni nari" ? Can someone please explain what is this used for, or send me a reference ??

thanks for any help !
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07-29-2010, 03:10 AM

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Originally Posted by m4x30000 View Post
Hi !

I would need some help explaining a verb form which I did not see anywhere, I got a message from a friend with the following : "明日から東京へ行くことになりそうです!" -- What bugs me is the "ことになりそうです!", I've seen on a website the form "koto ni shimasu/suru", but haven't found anything for "koto ni nari" ? Can someone please explain what is this used for, or send me a reference ??

thanks for any help !
The literal meaning of ~~する事になる is "The circumstances are leading me to do ~~~". A more casual translation would be "It looks like I have to do ~~~."

なる is one of the most under-rated verbs by Japanese-learners. No one can speak Japanese naturally without using it frequently.

"明日から東京へ行くことになりそうです = Looks like I'm going to be in Tokyo starting tomorrow.
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07-29-2010, 03:12 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by m4x30000 View Post
Hi !

I would need some help explaining a verb form which I did not see anywhere, I got a message from a friend with the following : "明日から東京へ行くことになりそうです!" -- What bugs me is the "ことになりそうです!", I've seen on a website the form "koto ni shimasu/suru", but haven't found anything for "koto ni nari" ? Can someone please explain what is this used for, or send me a reference ??

thanks for any help !
It is ことになる. However, there is another construction: Verb-stem+そうだ. It means "looks like" or "seems."

So なるー>なりそうだ。 Looks like will change.
食べるー>食べそうだ。 Looks like will eat.
飲むー>飲みそうだ。Looks like will drink.

明日から東京へ行くことになりそうです = It looks like you/I/he/she/it will [some hint of "must" with the ことになる here] go to Tokyo from tomorrow.

Edit Sashimister beat me!
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m4x30000 (Offline)
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07-29-2010, 03:47 AM

Thanks to both of you ! I'll try to remember to use なる more often -_^
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