なる・
なる says that something changes. する says that someone changes it. And when you "make it coffee", you are choosing: コーヒーにします.
it changes
Autumn arrived, and the mornings became cooler.
い-adjective
〜い → 〜く + なる／する
高い → 高くなる, 高くする. いい becomes よく.
な-adjective or noun
〜 + に + なる／する
静かになる, 静かにする, 医者になる.
なる: it changes
The thing that changes takes が or は. English says "become", "get", "turn", or just "is now".
This bag has become lighter than it was before.
The area near the station has become more convenient than before.
My older sister became a doctor last year.
Things you'll say and hear
〜くなりましたねsmall talk about the weather
It's gotten cold, hasn't it?
〜歳になるturn (an age)
My daughter will turn five next month.
上手になるget good at
You've gotten good at Japanese, haven't you?
好きになるcome to like
I've come to like Japanese music.
〜になりたいwant to be
I want to be a teacher.
English says "be". Japanese says "become".
〜円になりますcomes to … yen
That comes to 1,200 yen in all.
What you hear at a checkout.
No longer: なくなる
A verb's ない form changes like an い-adjective: 見ない → 見なくなる, "stop watching".
Recently, I have stopped watching much television.
する: someone changes it
The thing you change takes を.
The room became brighter.
What happened to the room.
The staff member made the room brighter.
What someone did to it.
I want to cut my hair short before summer.
My father cleaned up the room before the guests arrived.
The company turned the old factory into a museum.
Please be quiet.
Said to people. What they make quiet is themselves.
する changes something that is already there. Making a new thing, a cake or a chair, is 作る.
にする: you choose
English does this too: "make it a coffee", "let's make it Sunday". Nothing changes. You have picked one, in a café, in a shop, or when fixing a day.
What would you like to drink?
I'll have coffee.
If the choices are Saturday and Sunday, I'll choose Sunday.
I chose a window seat.
コーヒーをください asks for it. コーヒーにします says what you have settled on. In a café either one gets you a coffee.
Two slips with adjectives
Not said: 部屋が
(The room got warm.)
An い-adjective takes く, not に: 暖かくなりました.
Not said: 部屋が
(The room is clean now.)
きれい ends in い but is a な-adjective: きれいになりました.
Close neighbours
ようになるN4
A verb's dictionary form can't go straight before なる. What you can do now, or have started doing, takes ように.
I can read kanji now.
ようにするN4
A verb before する takes ように too: something you make a point of doing.
For my health, I try to use the stairs whenever I can.
ことになるN4
It has been decided, by someone else or by how things turned out.
It's been decided that I'll work in Osaka from next month.
お〜になるN4
Respect, not change. It is a polite way to say what someone above you does.
The teacher has already gone home.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
夜に
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
寝る
Choose an answer to see why.
3In a restaurant, your friend looks up from the menu and says this. What does it mean?
私は
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
Who decided?
The meeting is now at three.
It was decided. You are passing it on.
Hurry up
With 早く, する is plain "do": do it quickly.
Please hurry.
More sentences
The rain stopped, and the sky became brighter.
After the construction work, this street became quiet.
Get well soon.
I used to drink coffee every morning, but now I no longer do.
I'll make this photo a little bigger.
The teacher made the explanation simpler.
We will make this a nonsmoking room.
Which will you have for breakfast, rice or bread?
I'll have tea for my drink.
I chose ice cream for dessert.