Judgement and conjecture

～はずだ / ～はずがない

should be; is expected to; there is no way that

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How to form it

  • Verb/adjective (plain form) + はずだ
  • な-adjective + なはずだ
  • Noun + のはずだ
  • ... + はずがない / はずはない

Register: Neutral

Explanation

Expresses the speaker's expectation, based on reasoning or knowledge, that something is true. With はずがない it denies that something can be true.

A logical expectation, not a guess. Compare はずだった (it was supposed to, but wasn't).

Examples

  1. 彼は今日来るはずだ。

    かれはきょうくるはずだ。

    He should be coming today.

  2. この時間なら、まだ店は開いているはずだ。

    このじかんなら、まだみせはあいているはずだ。

    At this hour the shop should still be open.

  3. 先週送ったので、もう届いているはずだ。

    せんしゅうおくったので、もうとどいているはずだ。

    I sent it last week, so it should have arrived by now.

Compare with

  • ～に違いない: に違いない is a conclusion from evidence; はずだ is an expectation from knowledge or reasoning.
  • ～わけがない: わけがない is a strong denial; はずがない denies based on expectation.

Common mistakes

  • Using it for the speaker's own plan. It is an expectation about facts.