Overview
This lesson covers three related expressions for talking about intentions and desires: trying something out, doing something before another action, and expressing what you want — both actions and objects.
Pattern 1: て-form ＋ みる — “Try Doing…”
Meaning: Attaching みる (to see) to the て-form creates the expression “try doing something” — doing an action to see what it’s like, or giving something a go for the first time.
Structure: [て-form] ＋ みる
💡 Why みる? みる literally means “to see” or “to look.” The idea behind て＋みる is “do it and see (what happens)” — just as you might “try something and see how it goes” in English. The verb みる here does not mean looking with your eyes; it expresses the testing or trying of an experience.
| て-form | ＋ みる | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 食べて | 食べてみる | try eating (it) |
| やって | やってみる | give it a try / try doing it |
| 話して | 話してみる | try speaking |
| 着て | 着てみる | try wearing (it) |
| 使って | 使ってみる | try using (it) |
💡 みる conjugates normally as a Group 1 verb:
- 食べてみます → polite present
- 食べてみました → polite past (“I tried eating it”)
- 食べてみてください → “Please try eating it”
Example sentences:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 食べてみる。 | I’ll try eating it. |
| やってみます。 | I’ll give it a try. |
| この服を着てみてください。 | Please try on these clothes. |
| 日本語で話してみました。 | I tried speaking in Japanese. |
| 一度食べてみたい。 | I want to try eating it once. |
Pattern 2: Verb (plain form) ＋ まえに — “Before Doing…”
Meaning: まえに (前に) means “before.” When attached to a verb in plain form, it describes an action that takes place before another action.
Structure:
- Verb (plain non-past form) ＋ まえに
- Noun ＋ の ＋ まえに
💡 Important: Unlike とき, the verb before まえに is always in the plain non-past form — even if the overall sentence is in the past tense. This is because まえに describes a relative relationship between two actions (X happens before Y), not an absolute time. The tense of the whole sentence is carried by the final verb.
| Structure | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Verb ＋ まえに | 寝るまえに | before going to sleep |
| Verb ＋ まえに | 食べるまえに | before eating |
| Noun ＋ のまえに | レッスンのまえに | before the lesson |
| Noun ＋ のまえに | しごとのまえに | before work |
Example sentences:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 寝るまえに、かれはいつもキリンと話します。 | He always talks with his giraffe before going to bed. |
| レッスンのまえに、いつも復習をします。 | I always review before the lesson. |
| たべるまえに、手を洗います。 | I wash my hands before eating. |
| 日本にいくまえに、日本語をべんきょうしました。 | I studied Japanese before going to Japan. |
💡 まえに vs あとで (after): These two expressions work as a pair.
Expression Structure Example まえに (before) Verb plain non-past ＋ まえに 食べるまえに手を洗う あとで (after) Verb た-form ＋ あとで 食べたあとで歯を磨く Notice that あとで uses the past (た) form, while まえに uses the non-past form. With あとで, the first action must already be complete before the second begins — hence the past form.
Pattern 3: ます-stem ＋ たい — “I Want to Do…”
Meaning: Attaching たい to the ます-stem expresses the speaker’s desire to perform an action — “I want to do…”
Structure: [ます-stem] ＋ たい
💡 たい behaves exactly like an い-adjective. This means it conjugates using the same い-adjective rules you already know — not like a verb. The ます-stem before it does not change.
| ます-stem | ＋ たい | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 話し | 話したい | want to talk |
| 食べ | 食べたい | want to eat |
| 見 | 見たい | want to see / watch |
| 行き | 行きたい | want to go |
| 飲み | 飲みたい | want to drink |
| し | したい | want to do |
Full Conjugation: 話したい (want to talk)
Since たい is an い-adjective, it follows the standard い-adjective conjugation pattern:
| Positive | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 話したいです | 話したくないです |
| Casual present | 話したい | 話したくない |
| Polite past | 話したかったです | 話したくなかったです |
| Casual past | 話したかった | 話したくなかった |
Example sentences:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| すしを食べたいです。 | I want to eat sushi. |
| イタリアに行きたい。 | I want to go to Italy. |
| 今日は何もしたくない。 | I don’t want to do anything today. |
| ずっと日本語を話したかった。 | I’ve always wanted to speak Japanese. |
| あの映画を見たくなかった。 | I didn’t want to watch that movie. |
⚠️ Important limitation: たい expresses the speaker’s own desires and can also be used for close questions (“Do you want to…?”). It is not used to talk about a third person’s desires (e.g., “He wants to…”). For third-person desires, a different expression is used — this will be covered in a later lesson.
💡 たい ＋ みる: These two patterns combine naturally:
- 食べてみたい → I want to try eating it.
- やってみたい → I want to give it a try.
Pattern 4: ～がほしい — “I Want (something)…”
Meaning: ほしい expresses desire for a noun (an object or thing) — “I want [something].”
Structure: [Noun] ＋ が ＋ ほしい
💡 The particle is が, not を. This is a key point. In English, “I want a car” uses a direct object (“a car”), so you might expect を. In Japanese, however, ほしい is an adjective (not a verb), and adjectives use が to mark the thing being described. Think of it as: “As for me, a car is desirable.”
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| くるまがほしい。 | I want a car. |
| ともだちがほしい。 | I want a friend. |
| もっと時間がほしい。 | I want more time. |
| あたらしいパソコンがほしい。 | I want a new laptop. |
Full Conjugation: ほしい (want something)
ほしい is also an い-adjective and conjugates in the same way:
| Positive | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | ほしいです | ほしくないです |
| Casual present | ほしい | ほしくない |
| Polite past | ほしかったです | ほしくなかったです |
| Casual past | ほしかった | ほしくなかった |
Example sentences:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| くるまがほしいです。 | I want a car. |
| お金はほしくない。 | I don’t want money. |
| 子どものとき、犬がほしかった。 | When I was a child, I wanted a dog. |
| そんなものはほしくなかった。 | I didn’t want something like that. |
⚠️ Same limitation as たい: ほしい is used for the speaker’s own desires. It is not used to describe what a third person wants.
Summary Comparison: たい vs ほしい
| Expression | Used for | Particle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ます-stem ＋ たい | Wanting to do an action | を (object of the verb) | すしを食べたい |
| Noun ＋ がほしい | Wanting a thing (noun) | が | くるまがほしい |
Both たい and ほしい are い-adjectives and follow the same conjugation rules:
- Negative: 〜くない
- Past positive: 〜かった
- Past negative: 〜くなかった
Full Pattern Summary
| Pattern | Structure | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| てみる | て-form ＋ みる | try doing… | 食べてみる |
| まえに | Verb (plain non-past) ＋ まえに | before doing… | 寝るまえに |
| のまえに | Noun ＋ のまえに | before (noun)… | レッスンのまえに |
| たい | ます-stem ＋ たい | want to do… | 話したい |
| ほしい | Noun ＋ がほしい | want (something)… | くるまがほしい |