Explanation
Use "to" before the base verb to make an infinitive. We often use it after verbs like "want", "need", "hope", and "decide". We also use it to show purpose.
For example, "We went to the park to play soccer." Here "went" is the main verb, "to the park" shows the place, and "to play soccer" shows the reason. Japanese often says "〜するために" with a plain verb, so learners may forget the English "to".
"to" のあとに動詞の原形を置くと、不定詞になります。"want"、"need"、"hope"、"decide" などの後ろでよく使います。目的を表すときにも使います。
例えば "We went to the park to play soccer." では、"went" が中心の動詞、"to the park" が行き先、"to play soccer" が理由です。日本語では「〜するために」と言うので、英語の "to" を落としてしまいやすいです。
Examples
- I want to drink water. 水を飲みたいです。
- She needs to rest today. 彼女は今日は休む必要があります。
- Do you want to join us for lunch? 一緒にランチに来ませんか。
- We went to the park to play soccer. 私たちはサッカーをするために公園へ行きました。
- I don't want to be late. 遅れたくありません。
- This bag is easy to carry. このかばんは持ち運びやすいです。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often drop "to" after verbs like "want" and "need": "I want go home." -> "I want to go home." They also forget it in purpose phrases: "We went to the park play soccer." -> "We went to the park to play soccer."
日本人学習者は、"want" や "need" の後ろで "to" を落としやすいです。"I want go home." -> "I want to go home." のようになります。また、目的を表すときにも "to" を忘れがちです。"We went to the park play soccer." -> "We went to the park to play soccer." です。