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Verb Form for To-Do Lists?

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Murasaki Kami

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:26 am


Does anyone know the correct verb form to use for a To-Do list?

For example, let's say I have a terrible memory and make a list of all my chores each day:


1. Do laundry
2. Wash dishes
3. Pick kids up at school
4. Cook dinner

Would I use the imperative, as if I were telling someone else to do these things? Or is another form more appropriate?
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:03 am


Murasaki Kami
Does anyone know the correct verb form to use for a To-Do list?

For example, let's say I have a terrible memory and make a list of all my chores each day:


1. Do laundry
2. Wash dishes
3. Pick kids up at school
4. Cook dinner

Would I use the imperative, as if I were telling someone else to do these things? Or is another form more appropriate?


I know that when I make to-do lists in English, I use the infinitive form. I think it'd be the same way in Japanese, but I'm not 100% sure.

juunishikyou
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Murasaki Kami

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:17 am


Oh, okay.

That would simplify things a bit, wouldn't it?

If you happen to come across a definitive answer, let me know. ^.^
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 9:08 pm


I think it also depends on how you are phrasing it. If you are saying them in a sentence, as in "these are things I must do" or "these are things I am obligated to do" or "these are things I should be able to accomplish today," there are different forms for those cases.

Either way, if you are listing several actions in a single sentence, I *think* that the ~tari form is the most common way to list them. If you know what ~ta-form is, then you can do ~tari form by just adding a ~ri on to it.

毎日、選択をしたり、皿を洗ったり、子供たちを学校から乗らしたり、晩御飯を料理しなくちゃいけない。

Mainichi, sentaku wo shitari, sara wo arattari, kodomotachi wo gakkou kara norashitari, bangohan wo ryourishinakucha ikenai.

Edit: Oh yeah. English translation goes "Every day, I have to do laundry, wash dishes, pick up the kids from school, and cook dinner (*and it's implied that there may be other things on the list)"

Ivy Lana Lee
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Murasaki Kami

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 8:43 am


This is kind of why I'm unsure. I'm talking about literally making a list, like one to hang on the fridge door or whatnot. Not listing things in a sentence.

(Although your post was very informative ^.^)
PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 11:10 am


Murasaki Kami
This is kind of why I'm unsure. I'm talking about literally making a list, like one to hang on the fridge door or whatnot. Not listing things in a sentence.

(Although your post was very informative ^.^)


Why don't you make a sample list, how you'd write it in English, and we can go from there?

juunishikyou
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Murasaki Kami

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:24 pm


To Do
Wash dishes
Clean house
Take out trash


etc etc....

PostPosted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:27 am


Murasaki Kami
To Do
Wash dishes
Clean house
Take out trash


etc etc....



Okay, in that case, you don't need to conjugate it at all. It would just go like this:

しなくちゃいけない物

皿を洗う
家を掃除する
ごみを捨てる

などなど・・・

Shinakuchaikenai mono

sara wo arau
ie wo souji suru
gomi wo suteru

nado nado...

Ivy Lana Lee
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Murasaki Kami

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 1:08 am


Ah okay, ありがとう!
PostPosted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 12:28 am


Wouldn't you use "surubeki koto" and not mono?
Btw Surubeki/shinaitoikenai/shinakerebanaranai/shinakuchaikenai are probably all fine, I just chose beki since it's shorter and has the connotation that if you don't do those things, you'll be in hot water.


To be honest I think you could translate "Things to do" as やること "yarukoto".

Since it's an informal list to yourself, you could also probably list each item without verbs... For example:
お皿
そうじ
ゴミ

Osara
Souji
Gomi

Dishes
Cleaning
Trash

If someone else was reading it they may not know specifically what you need to clean or so on, but for yourself, a brief memo would be ok, right?

Badeye

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