Lesson 83 of 126

The lesson

8.9 Logical Expectations

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Overview

Learn to express logical expectations and conclusions using はず ("should / supposed to") based on evidence or common sense, and はずがない to strongly deny that something can be true.

～はず — expectation / logical conclusion

～はず is used to express a strong expectation or logical conclusion based on information, evidence, or common sense. It often means “should”, “supposed to”, or “expected to”.

The speaker believes the statement is true and expects reality to match it.

Verb (dictionary / past) + はず + だ / です
い-adjective + はず + だ / です
な-adjective + な + はず + だ / です
Noun + の + はず + だ / です

Here, the speaker expects this to be true based on what they know.

。

He should be coming already.

。

This shop is supposed to open at ten.

。

Today is supposed to be a day off.

～はず is often used when drawing a conclusion from facts.

、。

It’s raining

so the roads should be empty.

、。

He has lived in Japan for ten years

so his Japanese should be good.

When used with the past form, ～はず expresses what was expected to be true.

。

He should have come yesterday.

。

This movie should already be over.

To say something is expected not to be the case, negate the verb before はず.

。

It shouldn’t be raining today.

。

He wouldn’t say something like that.

～はずがない — “there’s no way / impossible”

～はずがない is used to express a strong denial or logical impossibility. It means that, based on what the speaker knows, something cannot be true.

It is much stronger than simply saying “I don’t think so”.

Structure

Verb (dictionary / past) + はず + が + ない / ありません
い-adjective + はず + が + ない / ありません
な-adjective + な + はず + が + ない / ありません
Noun + の + はず + が + ない / ありません

The speaker is confident that the situation contradicts facts, common sense, or reliable information.

。

There’s no way he would say something like that.

、。

It can’t be closed today since it’s a weekday.

。

That person can’t be the culprit.

～はずがない often follows reasoning like “because X, Y is impossible”.

、。

He’s still a child

so there’s no way he could make that judgment.

、。

If it’s this quiet

there’s no way nobody is here.

It can also deny something about the past.

。

There’s no way he was here yesterday.

。

There’s no way it finished in such a short time.

Points to keep in mind

～はず expresses expectation or logical conclusion
～はずがない expresses logical impossibility

Dialogue

きょう今日はともだち友達とえいが映画をみる見るやくそく約束をしました。えいが映画はさんじ三時にはじまる始まるはずです。ともだち友達はいつもじかんどおりに時間通りにくる来るので、もうすぐつく着くはずです。でも、にじ二時よん四じゅうぶん十分になってもきません来ません。でんしゃ電車がおくれている遅れているはずがないとおもいました思いましたが、ねん念のためかくにん確認しました。やはりでんしゃ電車はうごいている動いているはずなのに、ともだち友達からめっせえじメッセージがきました来ました。きごう「ごめん、ひにち日にちをまちがえた間違えたきごう」とかいて書いてありました。きょう今日だったはずなのに、どうしてまちがえた間違えたのでしょうか。えいが映画はひとり一人でみる見ることにしました。ちけっとチケットはもうかって買ってあるはずだから、うけとり受け取りにいきました行きました。えいが映画はとてもおもしろくて面白くて、ともだち友達がこなかった来なかったことがざんねん残念なはずなのに、たのしめました楽しめました。らいしゅう来週またいっしょに一緒にいく行くやくそく約束をしました。

Today I had made plans with a friend to watch a movie. The movie is supposed to start at three. My friend always comes on time, so they should be arriving soon. But even at two-forty they still hadn't come. I thought there was no way the trains were running late, but I checked just in case. The trains should have been running, and yet a message arrived from my friend. It said, "Sorry, I got the date wrong." It was supposed to be today — why would they have got it wrong? I decided to watch the movie alone. The ticket should already be paid for, so I went to pick it up. The movie was very interesting and, even though it should have been disappointing that my friend didn't come, I enjoyed myself. We made plans to go together again next week.

8.8 Making an effort vs change over time

8.10 〜べき — should / ought to

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