Lesson 67
Te Form + oku
By itself, oku means "to put," but after a verb in the Te Form it means "will certainly do (that verb)," or "will go ahead and do (that verb)." There isn't a whole lot of difference between shite oku and plain old suru to express "will do," but shite oku, or any verb in the Te Form with oku, expresses the fact that someone will definitely do that something right away or in the very near future. It has a "will go ahead and do" kind of feeling to it.
This Te Form with oku is also normally used for things which can be done in a relatively short amount of time. It can even be used in the past tense to state that you went ahead and did something. It isn't used in the negative; we don't use it to say that we won't or didn't do something. As usual, remember to convert oku to Base 2 with a masu ending to make it polite.
All right. With all that explaining out of the way, it's time to make some sentences:
- Ron ni denwa shite oku. (I'll call Ron.)
- Mado o akete oku. (I'll open the window.)
- Kasa o katte okimasu. (I'm going to buy an umbrella.)
- Kanojo ni ki o tsukeru you ni itte okimasu. (I'll tell her to be careful.)
- Shukudai o shite okimashita. (I [went ahead and] did my homework.)
Again, when not following a verb in the Te Form, oku means "to put," as in: Hon wa tsukue no ue ni oite kudasai (Please put the books on the desk), so please be careful not to confuse them.
I should mention here that verbs in the Te Form with oku can sometimes be very difficult to catch. That's because very few native speakers speak as neatly as the examples written above. The te + oku is usually compressed into something that sounds like "toku." For example, most native speakers would say the last example above so that it sounds like: Shukudai shtokimashita. That's what you would actually hear.
Word Check
oku: to put
mado: window
akeru: to open
ki o tsukeru: to be careful; to take care 1
iu: to say; to tell
shukudai: homework
hon: book(s)
tsukue: desk
ue: the top (of something)
you ni: in order to; in order that; for (a certain purpose or result); so (something will take effect or happen)
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)
Notes
1. Ki is a noun with many meanings, like "heart," "mind," and "energy." In this idiom it means "attention." Tsukeru means "to attach" or "apply," so the overall meaning becomes clear: to pay attention; to be careful. It's used often.
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