Breakdown of kuukou ni hayaku tukitai node, asita ha sihatu ni noru tumori desu.
Questions & Answers about kuukou ni hayaku tukitai node, asita ha sihatu ni noru tumori desu.
Why is 空港 followed by に?
Because 着く means to arrive, and the place you arrive at is marked with に.
- 空港に着く = arrive at the airport
- Here, に marks the destination.
This is different from verbs like 行く and 来る, where both に and へ can mark a destination. With 着く, に is the normal choice.
Why is it 早く, not 早い?
早い is an i-adjective, meaning early or fast, depending on context.
To modify a verb, you change an i-adjective into its adverb form by replacing い with く.
- 早い → 早く
So:
- 早く着きたい = want to arrive early
Here, 早く modifies the verb 着きたい.
How is 着きたい formed, and what does it mean grammatically?
着きたい is the たい-form, which expresses wanting to do something.
It is formed from the verb stem:
- dictionary form: 着く
- stem: 着き
- add たい
- 着きたい = want to arrive
So:
- 空港に早く着きたい = I want to arrive at the airport early
A useful thing to remember: たい behaves like an i-adjective grammatically.
Why is ので used here instead of から?
Both ので and から can mean because, but they have slightly different tones.
- ので sounds a bit softer, more explanatory, and often more polite
- から can sound more direct or assertive
So:
- 早く着きたいので = because I want to arrive early
In this sentence, ので fits well because the speaker is giving a reason for their plan in a calm, explanatory way.
Why is there a は after 明日?
明日は means as for tomorrow or tomorrow, ...
The は marks 明日 as the topic of the sentence. It gives a slight sense of contrast or framing:
- 明日は始発に乗るつもりです = As for tomorrow, I intend to take the first train
In natural English, you would usually just say Tomorrow, I plan to..., but in Japanese, は helps organize the sentence by setting the topic.
What does 始発 mean exactly?
始発 means the first departure of the day.
It is often used for public transportation, such as:
- the first train
- the first subway
- the first bus
So 始発に乗る means take the first train/bus/etc.
In many contexts, English translations say the first train, because that is the most common situation, but the exact vehicle depends on context.
Why is it 始発に乗る? Why does 乗る use に?
With the verb 乗る meaning to ride / get on / take a vehicle, the vehicle is marked with に.
Examples:
- 電車に乗る = ride the train
- バスに乗る = take the bus
- 始発に乗る = take the first train / first service
So in this sentence, に marks the thing the speaker will board.
What does つもりです mean here?
つもりです means intend to, plan to, or be going to.
- 乗るつもりです = I intend to ride / I plan to take
It expresses a personal intention or plan, not just a prediction.
So:
- 明日は始発に乗るつもりです = Tomorrow I plan to take the first train
This is softer than a very firm declaration and more intentional than simply saying what will happen.
Is the subject missing? Who wants to arrive early and plans to take the first train?
Why is there a comma after ので?
The comma helps separate the reason clause from the main clause:
- 空港に早く着きたいので、
- 明日は始発に乗るつもりです。
It works a bit like a pause in speech. Japanese punctuation is often more flexible than English punctuation, but in a sentence like this, the comma makes it easier to read.
Could 明日は be just 明日 without は?
Yes, it could.
- 明日始発に乗るつもりです is also possible.
Adding は gives tomorrow a clearer topic function and can add a slight contrastive feeling, such as as for tomorrow. Without は, the sentence may sound a little more straightforward and less framed as a topic.
Both are natural, but 明日は is very common.
What is the basic structure of the whole sentence?
The sentence breaks down like this:
- 空港に = to the airport / at the airport
- 早く = early
- 着きたい = want to arrive
- ので = because
- 明日は = as for tomorrow
- 始発に = on the first train / first service
- 乗る = ride / take
- つもりです = intend to / plan to
So the structure is:
- [reason] ので, [plan/intention]
- Because I want to arrive at the airport early, tomorrow I plan to take the first train.
Is 着きたいので natural even though たい expresses personal desire?
Yes, it is natural here.
たい expresses the speaker’s own desire, and ので gives the reason based on that desire:
- 早く着きたいので = because I want to arrive early
This is a very normal pattern when talking about your own plans and motivations.
One thing to remember is that たい is usually used for the speaker’s own wants, or in questions about the listener’s wants. It is not usually used casually for a third person’s desire unless the context clearly supports it.
Could this sentence be said in a more casual way?
Yes. A casual version could be:
- 空港に早く着きたいので、明日は始発に乗るつもり。
Or even more casually:
- 空港に早く着きたいから、明日は始発に乗る。
Notes:
- dropping です makes it less polite
- changing ので to から makes it a little more direct and casual
- dropping つもり and just saying 乗る can sound more definite: I’m taking the first train
The original sentence sounds polite and natural.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning JapaneseMaster Japanese — from kuukou ni hayaku tukitai node, asita ha sihatu ni noru tumori desu to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions