GrammarJLPT N5
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To Make Sure That / To See to It That
JLPT N5Fixed phraseNeutral
ようにする expresses the idea of making a conscious effort or taking deliberate steps to ensure that something happens or becomes a habit. It conveys the speaker's intention to try to bring about a certain state or to maintain a certain behavior. Unlike ことにする, which emphasizes the moment of decision ("I decided to…"), ようにする focuses on the ongoing effort or care taken to achieve a result. When used in the habitual form ようにしている, it strongly implies that the speaker has been making a continuous effort to maintain a habit. ようにする is also commonly paired with negative verbs (ないようにする) to express making sure that something does not happen. It is distinct from ようになる, which describes a change that has come about naturally rather than through deliberate effort.
Functions
#1 Making an effort to do something habitually
Structure
Verb (dictionary form) + ようにする / ようにしている
毎日やさいを食べるようにしています。
In this sentence, ようにしています (the continuous form of ようにする) indicates that the speaker has been making a deliberate, ongoing effort to eat vegetables daily. The use of the ている form emphasizes that this is not a one-time decision but a sustained habit the speaker consciously maintains. The verb 食べる appears in its dictionary form before ようにする.I make sure to eat vegetables every day.
Structures
- Verb (dictionary form)
- Verb (dictionary form) + ようにする
- Verb (ない-form)
- Verb (ない-form) + ようにする
Common mistakes
A common mistake is confusing ようにする with ようになる. While ようにする means making a deliberate effort to do something, ようになる describes a natural change in ability or state (e.g., 日本語がわかるようになった means "I came to understand Japanese" without implying conscious effort in that moment). Another frequent error is using ようにする interchangeably with ことにする. ことにする focuses on the decision itself ("I decided to…"), whereas ようにする emphasizes the ongoing effort to make something happen. Learners also sometimes forget to use the dictionary form or ない-form before ように, mistakenly attaching it to the ます-stem or て-form. Finally, some learners overlook that ようにしている (with ている) is the natural choice when describing an effort that has already become an established habit, rather than using the plain ようにする.
Related
ようになることにするようにしているないようにするてみる