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Particle
| A particle which indicates purpose when someone moves from one place to another. | To do something; in order to do something |
| 【Related Expression: 為に】 |
(ks). 私はデパートへ贈り物を買いに行った・行きました。
I went to a department store to buy a gift.
| Vます | に | |
| 話しに | To talk | |
| 食べに | To eat |
(a). 学生が質問をしに来た。
A student came to ask questions.
(b). そこへ何をしに行くんですか。
To do what are you going there?/ For what are you going there?
(c). 村井さんは昼ご飯を食べにうちへ帰った。
Mr. Murai went home to eat his lunch.
1. Verbますに, meaning 'to do something', can be used only with verbs of motion, (i.e., verbs which express a movement from one place to another), such as 行く 'go', 来る 'come', 帰る 'return', 入る 'enter' and 出る 'leave'. Verbs like 歩く 'walk', 走る 'run' and 泳ぐ 'swim' are not considered motion verbs because they express a manner of movement rather than a movement from one place to another. Therefore, the following sentence is ungrammatical.
2. If the verb in Verbますに is a compound verb of the structure Nounする, such as 仕事する 'work', 勉強する 'study' and 質問する 'ask a question', する is sometimes omitted.
【Related Expression】
Verb informal nonpast為に is also used to express purpose in an action. However, the uses of Verb informal nonpast為に and Verbますに differ in some ways. First, unlike Verbますに, Verb informal nonpast為に can be used with any verb. Examples:
[1]
[2]
Second, when Verbますに and Verb informal nonpast為に are used with verbs of motion, Verbますに can be used without a directional phrase, but Verb informal nonpast為に cannot, unless that information is clear from the context. Examples:
[3]
[4]
Third, when Verb informal nonpast為に and Verbますに are used with verbs of motion, Verb informal nonpast為に usually expresses a rather important purpose, while Verbますに can be used even to express something insignificant. Examples:
[5]