~ことだ
〜koto da
JLPT N3 Neutral
Formation
Verb-ますstem + ことだ, い-Adjective + ことだ, な-Adjective + なことだ, Noun + のことだ
Expresses advice or recommendation; 'should', 'it is important', 'it is necessary'.
When to use
Neutral, direct advice - "you should.../it's important to...".
Explanation
The ~ことだ grammar point is used to express a piece of advice or recommendation to someone. It can be translated as 'should', 'it is important', or 'it is necessary' in English. The formation differs depending on whether it is used with a verb, い-adjective, な-adjective, or noun.
Example sentences
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You should exercise every day.
Mainichi undou suru koto da.
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For your health, you should eat lots of vegetables.
Kenkou no tame ni, yasai wo takusan taberu koto da.
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When studying, you should choose a quiet place.
Benkyou shiteiru toki, shizuka na basho wo erabu koto da.
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You should use a dictionary to learn new words.
Jisho wo tsukatte, atarashii kotoba wo oboeru koto da.
Should (Advice / Expectation)
- ~たらいい〜tara iiN4Expressing a desire or suggestion for a particular…
- ~ばいい〜ba iiN4Express a suggestion or advice; 'should', 'it would be…
- ~はずだ〜hazu daN3Expresses an expectation, 'should' or 'it is supposed to'.
- ~ものだ〜mono daN2Expresses something natural or expected; 'it is normal…
- ~といい〜to iiN4Express a wish or hope; 'I hope', 'it would be good if'.
- ~たら いかがですか〜tara ikaga desu kaN4Making polite suggestions; 'how about if', 'what if', 'it…
- Verb たほうがいい〜ta hou ga iiN4Used to give advice or make a suggestion to someone -…
- ~たら どうですか〜tara doudesukaN4Express a suggestion or advice; 'what if', 'how about'…
- ~べきだ〜beki daN3Express an obligation or something that should be done…
- ~に越したことはない〜ni koshita koto wa naiN1Expresses that something is the best or most desirable…
Corpus examples (60)
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It is absurd trying to persuade him.
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The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.
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It is quite common now to meet with young people who do not know the Bible.
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As is often the case with him, he came late.
飢えている人々に援助のお金を出す人がとても少ないのは悲しいことだ。
It is sad that so few people give money to help the hungry.
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Jack's problem is that his wife spends more than he earns.
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In any case, it's none of your business.
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It's about your sister.
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To kiss her is one thing, and to love is another.
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Do you think it likely?
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It's considered to be an important matter.
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To live is to fight.
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He came late, as is often the case with him.
スパイの仕事とは、あなた方が知られたくないと思っていることを知ることだ。
Spies make it their business to know things that you don't want them to know.
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Silence is an admission of guilt.
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Love is seeing her in your dreams.
愛されないのは悲しいことだが、愛することが出来ないのは、もっと悲しいことである。
It is sad not to be loved, but it is much sadder not to be able to love.
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That day he went to school by bicycle, as is usual with him.
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It is bad to steal.
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We all consider it wrong to cheat in an examination.
名誉なことだ。
It's an honor.
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I think the key to good health is to not push yourself too hard.
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It is wrong to tell a lie.
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I thought it was a secret.
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Do you think it a bad thing?