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watasi ha kuzi made ni syukudai wo owarasemasu.

私わたし　は　九時くじ　まで　に　宿題しゅくだい　を　終おわらせます。watasi ha kuzi made ni syukudai wo owarasemasu.
I will finish my homework by nine o'clock.
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha kuzi made ni syukudai wo owarasemasu.

Why is it までに and not just まで?
  • までに marks a deadline: the action is completed any time before or at that point.
  • まで marks a span up to the point: the action continues until that time. Examples:
  • Bold: 九時までに宿題を終わらせます (finish by 9)
  • Bold: 九時まで宿題をします (work on homework until 9; not necessarily finished)
  • Bold: 店は九時までです (the store is open until 9)
Could I say 九時に instead? What’s the difference among 九時に, 九時までに, and 九時前に?
  • Bold: 九時に = at 9 exactly (scheduled point)
  • Bold: 九時までに = by 9 (any time up to and including 9)
  • Bold: 九時前に = before 9 (strictly earlier than 9) Choose based on whether you mean an exact time, a deadline, or strictly earlier.
Do I need 私は? When would I use 私が?
  • Dropping Bold: 私は is very common when context already makes “I” clear.
  • Bold: 私は marks the topic (“as for me…”).
  • Bold: 私が marks the grammatical subject and adds emphasis/contrast (“it’s I (not someone else) who…”).
  • Bold: 私は九時までに宿題を終わらせます is neutral. Bold: 私が九時までに宿題を終わらせます stresses you specifically will do it.
Why 宿題を and not 宿題が? Can I say 宿題は?
  • Bold: 終わらせる is transitive, so the thing you finish takes を: 宿題を終わらせます.
  • Bold: 終わる is intransitive: 宿題が終わります (“the homework will be finished”).
  • Bold: 宿題を終わります is ungrammatical.
  • You can topicalize: Bold: 宿題は九時までに終わらせます (“As for the homework, I’ll finish it by 9”).
  • Event-focused alternative: Bold: 宿題が九時までに終わります (“The homework will be done by 9”).
What’s the difference between 終わらせます, 終えます, and 終わります?
  • Bold: 終わらせる (transitive; lit. “cause to end”) = “to finish [something]”; very common in speech.
  • Bold: 終える (transitive) = “to finish [something]”; a bit crisper/more formal. Bold: 宿題を終えます is fine.
  • Bold: 終わる (intransitive) = “to end/be finished.” Bold: 宿題が終わります.
Isn’t 終わらせます a causative like “make someone finish”? Who is being made to do something?
  • Yes, morphologically it’s the causative of 終わる, but it’s also a normal way to say “finish [something]” when you’re the one completing it: Bold: 宿題を終わらせます.
  • To literally “make/let someone finish,” you add the person with に: Bold: 子どもに宿題を終わらせます (“I make the child finish their homework”).
Where can I put 九時までに in the sentence? Does the word order matter?

It’s flexible as an adverbial time phrase, and it must come before the verb:

  • Bold: 私は九時までに宿題を終わらせます.
  • Bold: 私は宿題を九時までに終わらせます.
  • Bold: 九時までに私は宿題を終わらせます (OK but a bit marked). Avoid placing Bold: 九時までに after the verb.
How do I pronounce it? Any irregular readings?
  • Reading: Watashi wa kuji made ni shukudai o owarasemasu.
  • Notes:
    • Bold: 九時 is read くじ (not きゅうじ).
    • Bold: を is pronounced “o.”
    • Bold: 終わらせます is おわらせます.
    • Bold: 宿題 is しゅくだい.
Why are there spaces between the words? Do Japanese usually write with spaces?
Spaces are added here for learners. Standard Japanese writing does not insert spaces between words.
How polite is this? How would it look in casual speech or other tenses?
  • Bold: 終わらせます is polite non-past (present/future).
  • Casual: Bold: 終わらせる.
  • Past: Bold: 終わらせました (polite), Bold: 終わらせた (casual).
  • Negative: Bold: 終わらせません (polite), Bold: 終わらせない (casual).
Can I write 9時 instead of 九時?
Yes. Both Bold: 9時 and Bold: 九時 are fine; 9時 is common in modern writing. The reading stays くじ.
How do I say “by around 9,” “by tomorrow,” or “by Monday”?
  • Bold: 九時ごろまでに (by around 9)
  • Bold: 明日までに (by tomorrow)
  • Bold: 月曜日までに (by Monday) You can also use Bold: 今日中に (“within today/by the end of today”) when that’s the nuance you want.
What’s the difference between までに and までで?
  • Bold: までに = by (deadline).
  • Bold: までで = “up to X and no more” (sets a limit/cutoff), often with nouns or set phrases. Examples:
  • Bold: 九時までに来てください (Please come by 9).
  • Bold: 今日はここまでで終わりにしましょう (Let’s stop here for today).
  • Bold: 受付は五時までです／五時までで終了です (The reception is until 5 / It ends at 5 and that’s the limit).
What’s the difference between 宿題をします and 宿題を終わらせます?
  • Bold: 宿題をします = do homework (doesn’t say anything about finishing).
  • Bold: 宿題を終わらせます = finish (get the homework done).
Can I add 〜ておく to mean “get it done by 9 (in preparation)”?
Yes. Bold: 九時までに宿題を終わらせておきます adds the nuance of doing it in advance/so it’s taken care of.
How do I say I won’t finish by 9 or “not until 9”?
  • “I won’t finish by 9”: Bold: 九時までに終わりません.
  • “Not until 9 (but at/after 9 I will)”: Bold: 九時までは終わりません. The は adds a contrastive “at least until 9” nuance.
What does adding は to make までには do (九時までには)?
Bold: までには adds a contrastive/emphatic nuance: “by 9 at the latest.” Bold: 九時までには終わらせます suggests you might even finish earlier, but certainly not later than 9.