Talking About Your Actions

何をしますか [nani o shimasu ka]
What do you do?

• 何 [nani] means "what"
• を [o] shows that a word is the target of an action
• します [shimasu] means "do"
• か [ka] makes the sentence into a question
• Literally means "What, do?"

Verbs in Japanese end with an 'u' sound in their plain form, but in the polite form they end in -ます [masu]

• する [suru] means 'do'.
• Polite form is します [shimasu]

練習します [renshū shimasu]
I practice.

• 練習 [renshū] means "practice"
• します [shimasu] means "do"

Attach します [shimasu] after word to form a verb.

• 宿題します [shukudai shimasu] I do my homework. / I will do my homework.
• 勉強します [benkyō shimasu] I study. / I will study.

Besides asking about what people do from time to time, you can also ask 何をしますか to inquire about future plans.

• A: 何をしますか
  What will you do?
• B: 宿題します [shukudai shimasu]
  I will do my homework.
• B: 何をしますか [nani o shimasu ka]
  What will you do?
• A: ショッピングします
  I will shop.