What's new

私が行きましょう

Angel Valis

黒川
15 Jul 2010
290
27
38
So I saw this phrase in some flash cards I'm using, and they translated it as, "why don't I go," but there was no rising intonation or か so I'm not sure where the "why" came from. Wouldn't this be more like, "I shall go"?
 
Did you see the recent thread on the difference between は and が? Read it and I think you'll spot the answer for yourself.
 
Okay, yeah, I get that much, 私 is being emphasized and I could definitely read it as "Why don't *I* go?"...but the card had a listening element and the speaker definitely didn't produce a question intonation, so it was said as a statement. Is this an idiomatic phrase or something like that?
 
私が行きましょう

Okay, yeah, I get that much, 私 is being emphasized and I could definitely read it as "Why don't *I* go?"...but the card had a listening element and the speaker definitely didn't produce a question intonation, so it was said as a statement. Is this an idiomatic phrase or something like that?


It's more of a suggestion than a genuine question. And not all questions necessarily have rising intonation (for example...."Why don't I go?")
 
Last edited:
I think I get it now. I think this is the first time that lack of stressed syllables has thrown me so much. Thanks Mike.
 
I think I get it now. I think this is the first time that lack of stressed syllables has thrown me so much. Thanks Mike.

You'd have gotten it all by yourself if it were placed in a context instead of being isolated like that.
 
So I saw this phrase in some flash cards I'm using, and they translated it as, "why don't I go," but there was no rising intonation or か so I'm not sure where the "why" came from. Wouldn't this be more like, "I shall go"?
Unlike 私が行きます, 私が行きましょう has a nuance of a humble offer (stronger than asking permission 私が行きましょうか?, though), so the translation "Why don't I" would be used there, I think.
 
Back
Top Bottom