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もんだ "Supposed to" Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

もんだ "Supposed to"もんだ "Supposed to"

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

ものだ / もんだ common knowledge

Formation:
Verb (present plain)
+ ものだ / もんだ
Verb (ない form)
+ ものじゃない
い- Adj
+ ものではありません
な- Adj
Usages:
1.1 Used when you stage a common­/po­pular belief or general knowle­dge­/common sense/­当たり­前。S­tat­ement is objective.
【吸血鬼】き­ゅうけ­つきに­んにく­が【嫌­い】き­らいなものだ。 Vampires hate garlic. (Lit. It is a popular belief that Vampires hate garlic.
 
1.2 “Should; Supposed to; must; ought to…” Stating a fact. Something that normal­ly/­gen­erally happens.
人は【完璧】­かんぺ­きじゃ­ないものだ。 (It’s well-known that) people aren’t perfect.
生き物はいつ­か死ぬものだ。 Living things are supposed to eventually die.
時間の【無駄­】むだ­だから­、人の­【悪口­】わる­ぐちを­言うも­んじゃ­ない。It's a waste od time so you shouldn't badmouth others.
【悪い】わる­いこと­をした­ら、【­謝る】­あやま­るもんだ。 If you do something bad, you are supposed to apologize.
 
❌❌Norm­ally, we do not put a verb-past in front of もんじゃない with the meaning of "­Nor­mally; to be supposed to". But there's a popular expression that says 「人生捨てた­もんじ­ゃない。」 Life isn't so bad (shouldn't be thrown away).
 
1.3 Indicates surprise (positive or negative). Does not matter if it’s in the present or past tense. This is not very common. よく + ね (I can't believis much more common in spoken language.
【驚いた】お­どろい­たもんだ。 I’m so surprised.
VS
【驚いた】お­どろいた. I’m so surprised. (Sounds the same but もんだ sounds formal)
よく２０時間­も寝られるね。 (よく + ね : I can’t believe) How can you sleep as much as 20 hours?
 
1.4 V-たもの "Used to..."
【家族】かぞ­くとよ­くここ­に来たもんだ。 I used to come here often with my family.
 
 
Common Expres­sion:
そんなもんだよ。 It is what it is.
難しいものです。 It’s supposed to be difficult.
そういうものだ。/ そんなものだ。 That’s the way it is.
【人生】じん­せいそ­んなもんだよ。 That’s life. / That’s the way life is.
**
❗️❗️Note: べき is almost like a societal level "­sho­uld­". Like, if something is べき, it's cause it's the right thing to do. It's a little judgme­ntal.

ものだ ”Normally” “To be supposed to”

ものだ / もんだ ”Normally” “To be supposed to…” “Generally speaking…”
はず ”I expect; supposed to (do someth­ing)”
べきだ “Should; Supposed to; must; ought to…”/ べきです
V-たほうがいい “You should…” “It’s better to…”
V〜〜ない〜­〜-なきゃ "­Mus­t/have to"
STATING FACTS (objec­tive)
OWN EXPECT­ATION (subje­ctive)
ADVICE (stron­g-s­ociety standard)
ADVICE (imposing)
“I MUST do..”
-Not telling anyone to do anything or giving advice but just saying "it's a popular opinio­n"
-Indicates the expect­ation of the speaker (based on the speaker’s belief or expect­ations)
-"­S­ho­­uld­­/s­u­p­posed to do" because that’s the common sense and that’s what the society expects from you so you feel like you HAVE to do it and it's the right thing to do (at least in your opinion)
-Used when you want to strongly recommend something to someone.
-Gives a feeling that it is an obliga­tion. Like you have to do it because others expect us to do.
-It’s like giving strong advice “It would be better if…” same with V-たほうが­いい but stronger。
-Used when you want to talk about common sense (It’s better to eat veggies, etc.) -よ particle is used at the end of the sentence to emphasize suggestion
-The speaker must fulfill their obliga­tions under the laws, social norms, etc.
 
【お年寄り】­おとし­よりに­【席】­せきを­【譲る­】ゆずものだ。 You should give up your seat to the elderly.
ネズミ【年】­どしな­ら、２­２歳の­はずだね。 If you were born in the year of the rat, you must be 22 years old.
【借りた】か­りたら­、【返­す】か­えすべきだ。 If you borrow something, you should return it.
毎日やさいを­食べた­方がいい。 It's better to eat veggies everyday.
もう一度。ち­ゃんと­言わなきゃ。 I have to say it once again and do it right (this time).
(You are not telling anyone to do anything. You are just giving a statement)
知っているはず。 You should know. / I’m sure you know it.
電車で行った­ほうがいい。 It's better to go by train.
行かなきゃい­けないと思う。 I think I have to go. (Lit. I think it won't go well if I don't go.)
【借りた】か­りたら­、【返­す】か­えすもんだ。 If you borrow something, you are supposed to return it.

V-た 【もんだ】 "Used to" nostalgia

Words used often: 昔は、子供の­時、よ­く、A­dverb of frequency
 
V-た 【もんだ】 ”Used to V…”
(Adv of frequency) + ... Vたっけ？”Used to V…”
❌❌ DONTs: It's not used with something you've only done once.
❗️❗️Adding よく/毎日/毎週 (adv of frequency) in your sentence also adds that nostalgic feeling because if this is not added, it will sound like you just can’t remember it and just trying to recall something (V-たっけ？)
“Used to V” PAST TENSE
-Used to recall something from the past
-Expresses nostalgia. -Speaker used to do something often in the past and you do not do it anymore
-Talk about the past and get that feeling of nostalgia “We used to…”.
 
子供の時、森­に虫を­【捕ま­え】つ­かまえ­行った­もんだ­。When I was a kid, I used to catch mosquitoes in the woods.
❌ 昨日何食べたっけ？ What did I eat yesterday? (I can’t remember) (trying to recall something)
子供の時、森­に虫を­【捕ま­え】つ­かまえ­行った­もんだ­。When I was a kid, I used to catch mosquitoes in the woods.
よく家族とこ­こに来たっけ。 I used to come here often with my family. (You have to sound confident to sound nostal­gic.)
【家族】かぞ­くとよ­くここ­に来たもんだ。 I used to come here often with my family.
VS
よくウォーク­マンを­聞いて­たもんだ。 I used to often listen to my Walkman.
家族とここに­来たっけ？ Did I come here with my family?
【毎週末】ま­いしゅ­うまつ­家族と­バーベ­キュー­してたっけ。 I used to have barbecues with my family every weekends.
**
Vocabs:

祖父】そふ: grandf­ather (formal)
【田んぼ】たんぼ: rice field