Basic invitations and shared action | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 今行きましょう。

   Let us go now.

   今

   now

   行きましょう

   let’s go

   More detail

   今 means “now” here. It is a time word and can usually be placed near the action it specifies. Example: 今食べます。 — “I will eat now.” 行きましょう means “let’s go.” The base form is 行く (“to go”); 行きましょう uses the polite volitional form 〜ましょう, which proposes that the speaker and the listener or listeners do the action together. The 行き part is the stem used before this ending. This form is not simply a future statement about the speaker alone: 行きます is the polite form “go/will go,” while 行きましょう makes a suggestion such as “let’s go.” Example: 食べましょう。 — “Let’s eat.” Together, 今 + 行きましょう gives “Let’s go now.” Japanese does not need an overt subject here; the people included in the proposal are understood from the situation. The sentence is a polite suggestion to go at the present time.

2. 一緒に食べましょう。

   Let us eat together.

   一緒に

   together

   食べ

   eat

   ましょう

   let’s

   More detail

   一緒に means “together” and functions as an adverb, describing how the action is done. It can be reused with other actions, for example: 一緒に行きましょう。 — “Let’s go together.” 食べ is the stem of 食べる (“to eat”). The stem appears before several endings, including ましょう; it is not the complete plain-form verb by itself. For example, 食べます means “eat” or “will eat” in a polite statement, while 食べましょう makes a suggestion. ましょう is a polite ending used here to propose a shared action: “let’s …”. It attaches to the verb stem, so 食べ + ましょう becomes 食べましょう. The same pattern appears in the supplied context: 行きましょう — “Let’s go,” and 始めましょう — “Let’s start.” Together, 一緒に食べましょう。 means “Let’s eat together.” 一緒に specifies the manner of eating, and 食べましょう presents eating as a shared proposal.

3. 今始めましょう。

   Let us start now.

   今

   now

   始めましょう

   let’s start

   More detail

   今 means “now” here, identifying the time of the proposed action. It can also appear in other time expressions, such as 今朝 (“this morning”), but in this sentence it stands alone as the time adverb. 始めましょう is the polite volitional form of 始める (“to start” or “to begin”). The ending ましょう presents the action as a proposal involving the speaker: 始めましょう means “let us start” or “let’s start.” It is not the plain present form; the polite proposal pattern is reusable with other verbs, as in 食べましょう (“let’s eat”). Together, 今 and 始めましょう mean “Let us start now.” The time word places the proposed starting action at the present moment, while ましょう makes it a shared proposal rather than a bare statement that starting occurs.

4. ここで止めましょう。

   Let us stop here.

   ここで

   here

   止めましょう

   let’s stop

   More detail

   ここで means “here” in this sentence. ここ is a demonstrative for a nearby place or the place relevant in the situation. The particle で marks the place where an action or event takes place. For example, ここで休みます。 means “I will rest here.” 止めましょう comes from 止める, “to stop something,” and uses the polite volitional form -ましょう. This form commonly proposes a shared action: 止めましょう is “let’s stop,” with the thing being stopped understood from the situation. Compare 止まる, “to stop” or “come to a stop” without directly stating an object; 止める presents someone as stopping something. In the fixed sentence, the intended proposal is to stop at this point. The ending -ましょう is also used in 始めましょう, “let’s start,” as in the preceding context. Together, ここで止めましょう means “Let us stop here”: ここで specifies the point or place, and 止めましょう makes a polite proposal for stopping. The sentence itself does not specify what activity or thing is being stopped.

5. 私と一緒に来てください。

   Come with me.

   私

   me

   と一緒に

   together with

   来てください

   please come

   More detail

   私 means “me” here: it refers to the speaker. In Japanese, 私 is a first-person pronoun; its form does not change for subject versus object in the way English pronouns do. The particle と marks the person accompanying someone, and 一緒に means “together.” Together, 私と一緒に is the reusable pattern “together with me.” 来てください is a polite request meaning “please come.” 来て is the te-form of 来る (“to come”), and ください after a te-form makes a polite request. The te-form is 来て, not an independently different verb meaning “please.” The sentence combines these parts in order: 私と一緒に (“together with me”) + 来てください (“please come”), giving “Come with me.”

6. 私を待ってください。

   Wait for me.

   私

   me

   待ってください

   please wait

   More detail

   私 is the pronoun for “I” or “me.” In this utterance, the following particle を marks 私 as the object of the action, so the meaning is “me” in “wait for me.” The particle is not included in the selected quote, but 私を is the reusable pattern for marking this object. 待ってください means “please wait.” It consists of 待つ (“to wait”) in its て-form, 待って, followed by ください, which makes a polite request. The て-form is an important form used before ください: 見てください means “please look,” for example. Here, 待ってください is a polite request, not a statement that someone is currently waiting. Together, 私を (“for me” as the person being waited for) and 待ってください (“please wait”) produce the complete meaning: “Wait for me.”