JLPT Grammar Course
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Lesson 13: 〜だろう・でしょう
Usage:
Verb + （の/ん） + だろう・でしょう
i-Adjective + （ん）だろう・でしょう
na-Adjective + （ん）だろう・でしょう
Noun + だろう・でしょう
Meaning:
| 「〜だろう・でしょう」means “must…”, “should…”, “very likely…”. 〜でしょう is a polite way to say 〜だろう. If you want to say something but you are not 100% sure，you can use 〜（ん）だろう・でしょう. Note: （1）んだろう・んでしょう in often used in spoken Japanese. （2）だろう is mostly something men would say, so if you are a female, it is better to use でしょう instead. |
Example Sentences:
| 冗談だろう！ You must be kidding! 彼は来るだろう。 It’s very likely he’ll come. 彼はいないだろう。 He must be out. どうしたらいいんだろう？ What should I do? ジョーはどこへ行ったんだろう？ I wonder where Joe went? 今日にやるんでしょう？ You’ll do it today right? トムが優勝したんでしょう。 Tom got first prize, didn’t he? やり方がわからないんでしょう？ You don’t know how to do it, do you? 私に対して怒ってるんでしょう。 You’re angry with me, aren’t you? 雪が好きでしょう？ You like snow, don’t you? |
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14 thoughts on “Lesson 13: 〜だろう・でしょう”
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Was it a coincidence or were the Nezuko and Zenitsu’s examples really a Kimetsu no Yaiba reference =))))
Why is the second example 「彼は来るだろう。」doesnt have の or ん after the Verb?
の or ん is optional.
Do の and ん have a meaning? I have understood that they’re optional, but do they convey some kind of meaning?
の/ん here are used to emphasize the whole sentence.
Hi! One more thing: do we always use the verb in plain form? Or can we use だろう and でしょう also with the polite form?
yes, plain form only
どうしたらいいんだろう <- could you explain this sentence piece by piece please? Is it どうしたら + いい + ん+だろう?
Also, is ~だろう similar to ～かな? Meaning and formality wise.
どうしたら What to do
いい good
どうしたらいい to do what is good → what should I do?
んだろう → ん is used to emphasize the sentence, you can drop it.
may i know why 対して was used on the 9th example? can you please explain the relation of it in the sentence? cause when i searched for the meaning, i don’t fully understand how it can be used 😅 thank you 💞
私に対して怒ってるんでしょう。
You’re angry with me, aren’t you?
“私” is the target of “怒ってる”, so you can use “対して” to mark the target.
Hi Marshall! I am reviewing what I know about N5 and N4. I have had some strange looks when I used だろう as a woman, so maybe it would be a good idea to also mention this on the explanation? That だろう is mostly something men would say.
I have also learnt from a textbook that でしょう can have different pitch accent depending on content.
E.g. 質問が正しいでしょう -> flat accent
起こってるでしょう -> high pitch accent at the end.
So in my head, the latter is used when you ask for confirmation from someone, while the former when you are wondering and show uncertainty. Lemme know what you think!
質問が正しいでしょう -> flat accent
起こってるでしょう -> high pitch accent at the end.
So in my head, the latter is used when you ask for confirmation from someone, while the former when you are wondering and show uncertainty. yes! that’s right!
[I have had some strange looks when I used だろう as a woman, so maybe it would be a good idea to also mention this on the explanation? That だろう is mostly something men would say.]
I have added a note already!