つもり

Noun (Basic ㊦ 503)

An intention or conviction of a speaker (or a person with whom the speaker can empathise) about his future or past actions or current state.

Equivalent: Intend to ~; be convinced that ~; believe; feel sure that ~; be going to; mean

私は来年結婚するつもりだ・です。
I intend to get married next year.
父はまだ若いつもりだ・です。
My father is convinced that he is still young.
私はよく読んだつもりだ・です。
I'm convinced that I read it carefully.
これはお礼のつもりだ・です。
This is my intention of appreciation.
休みには何をするつもりですか。
What do you intend to do during the vacation?
僕は大学に行くつもりはない。
I have no intention of going to college.
あんな人にはもう会わないつもりです。
I do not intend to see that kind of person.
私はまだ元気なつもりだ。
I'm convinced that I'm still healthy.
話したつもりでしたが、話さなかったんですね。
I thought I talked to you about it, but I didn't, did I?
この仕事は遊びのつもりです。
This work is intended to be a pastime.
それで勉強しているつもりですか。
Are you sure you can study like that?

Formation

(i) Vinformal つもりだ  
  {話す /話した} つもりだ Intend to talk/someone is convinced he talked
(ii) Adjective い informal nonpast つもりだ  
  強いつもりだ Someone is convinced that he is strong
(iii) Adjective な stem なつもりだ  
  元気なつもりだ Someone is convinced that he is healthy
(iv) Noun のつもりだ  
  先生のつもりだ Someone is convinced that he is a teacher

Notes

1. つもり is a dependent noun and must be preceded by a modifier. The minimal modifier is その 'that'.

2. The subject of a statement containing つもりだ must be the first person or someone with whom the speaker empathizes. In a question, however, the subject must be the second person or someone with whom the hearer empathizes.

3. つもりだ can be negated in two ways. The verb/adjective in front of つもり can be negated, as in Example (c), or つもり can be negated as つもりはない (not *つもりではない), as in Example (b). The difference between these two negative versions is that the second version implies stronger negation than the first one, as shown by (3) below:

【Related Expressions】

I. つもり should not be confused with はず which means 'expectation' rather than 'conviction'.

(⇨ はず)

II. つもりだ is comparable but not identical to ようと思う. Firstly, ようと思う can replace つもりだ only in Key Sentence (A), that is, only when a verb precedes つもりだ. Secondly, ようと思う indicates a spur-of-the moment decision while つもりだ indicates a more stable conviction/intention. Thus, if you are shown a car by a car salesman, you can say:

[1]

But it is strange to say:

Or, if you see an interesting ad for a stereo set in the newspaper, you can say [2a] but not [2b].

[2]