Japanese with Manga

Expecting stew for dinner with はず

Grammar Explanation: Expectation with はず

Manga panel from ご注文はうさぎですか？ showing example of Expecting stew for dinner with はず.
ご注文はうさぎですか？ » Volume 1 » Page 78

At the end of her school day, Chino pauses to think about tonight’s meal.

チノ:
「今日(きょう)の夕飯(ゆうはん)はココアさんがシチューを作(つく)ってくれるはず…」
“Cocoa-san should be making stew for dinner today.”
Literal: “For today's dinner, Cocoa should make stew for us, as expected...”

Key Points

1はず adds expectation
  • The main grammar here is 作ってくれる, but はず turns it into “should be making”.
  • Chino is not watching Cocoa cook; she is reasoning from what she expects to happen.
2作(つく)ってくれる frames Cocoa’s cooking as a benefit
  • Cocoa is the person doing the action.
  • くれる shows Chino expects that action to be welcome from Chino’s side.
3ココアさんが marks the giver
  • The person before が is the one who will make the stew.
  • The beneficiary is not stated directly, but the dinner context points to Chino and the household.
  • さん is an honorific suffix attached to a person’s name to show respect and social distance, roughly equivalent to “Mr.”, “Ms.”, or “Mrs.” in English, though it’s used far more broadly and doesn’t specify gender or marital status.

See Also

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