The two most useful verbs in Japanese for expressing change: なる for what becomes, する for what is made or chosen. With nouns, adjectives, and the polite 'is' that's really 'becomes'.
する works with the same pieces, but someone is making the change:
Pattern
Example
noun
〜にする
これにする (I'll take this)
い-adj
〜くする
小さくする (make small)
な-adj
〜にする
きれいにする (make clean)
verb
〜ようにする
毎日書くようにする (try to write daily)
部屋roomをきれいにしたmade clean
I cleaned up the room.
音soundを小さくしてmake smallください
Please turn the sound down.
私IはコーヒーにしますI'll have
I'll have coffee.
なる vs する
Is someone causing it?
Natural change
Deliberate change
部屋がきれいになった
部屋をきれいにした
寒くなった
寒くした
音が小さくなった
音を小さくした
The first column uses が and なる; the second uses を and する. The same logic as the transitive/intransitive pairs.
ように / ことに: a family
You have seen these before. Here they are together:
Meaning
Pattern
ようになる
come to (change in ability or habit)
話せるようになる
ようにする
make an effort to
毎日読むようにする
ことになる
it has been decided / it turns out
行くことになった
ことにする
I decide to
行くことにした
ことになっている
it's the rule that
九時に始まることになっている
ことにしている
I make a habit of
毎日走ることにしている
毎日every day日本語Japaneseを読むreadようにしているtry to
I make a point of reading Japanese every day.
ここhereでは靴shoesを脱ぐtake offことになっているit's the rule
Shoes are to be taken off here.
〜になります / 〜になる as polite "is"
In shops and formal speech, you hear 〜になります instead of です:
こちらthisがメニューになりますis
Here is the menu.
お会計billは千円1,000 yenになりますcomes to
The total comes to 1,000 yen.
It sounds soft and slightly indirect: "it becomes". Some people dislike it, but you will hear it every day.
〜になる for roles and status
来月next month二十歳twentyになるbecome
I turn twenty next month.
もう三時three o'clockになったbecame
It's already three o'clock.
Longer sentences
Change is the subject of many essays. Read for なる and する and what they imply.
最近recently町がtown急にsuddenly賑やかにlivelyなってきたhas become新しいnew駅がstationできてwas built and店もshops too増えincreased人通りもfoot traffic too多くなったhas grown以前はbefore静かだったwas quiet通りがstreet嘘のようだis like a lie
The town has suddenly become lively lately. A new station opened, shops have multiplied, and foot traffic has increased. The street that used to be so quiet seems unreal now.
会社のcompany's規則でby the rules毎週every week月曜日にon Monday全員がeveryone集まることにthat they gatherなっているのでit being settled私もI too早起きするget up earlyようにしているmake an effort
By company rule everyone gathers every Monday, so I make a point of getting up early too.
A town's story
昔long agoは(topic)小さなsmall漁村だったwas a fishing villageこの町はthis town鉄道がrailway通ったのをhaving openedきっかけにas a turning point少しずつlittle by little大きくなりgrew bigger and今ではnow観光客でwith touristsにぎわうbustles町にtownなったbecame
町をtown守るためにin order to protect古いold建物はbuildings壊さないことにnot to demolish決められwas decided and新しいnew店もshops too景観をscenery損なわないdo not spoilようにしなければunless they make sureならないことになっているit's been decided that they must
This town, which was once a small fishing village, began to grow when the railway opened, and has become a town bustling with tourists.
To protect the town, it was decided not to demolish old buildings, and new shops are required to take care not to spoil the scenery.
Key points
〜になる / 〜くなる: become. 〜にする / 〜くする: make, choose.
が + なる = natural change; を + する = deliberate.
ようになる / ようにする / ことになる / ことにする are a family.
〜になります in shops means "is" (softly).
Drill these patterns
Short example sentences for the points in this lesson: