たりする (tari suru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Do Such Things as A, B Etc
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たり~する (tari~suru) is a conjugation expressing a list of actions in no particular order.
Its usage is similar to the て form , since like て it is used to list a succession of actions in a sentence.
The difference with て is that たり does not imply a detemined order, but simply express a series of actions in a random order (I did things like... and... and... etc.).
In this structure the last たり in the sentence is followed by the verb する (to do):
たり used singularly
When たり is used only once in the sentence it means doing the indicated action and implies that other actions have been done, but are not intentionally indicated (I did things like ...).
そこの池で泳いだりした。
I did things like swimming in that pond.
Sentences in the negative and past tense with たり
To conjugate たり in the negative and past tense just conjugate the last verb する:
- しない (Past negative ofする)
- した (Past affermative of する)
映画を見たり、本を読んだりしない。
They do not watch films or read books.
As we can see in this example, by conjugating する to the negative (しない) the whole sentence with たり takes on the negative meaning (I don't do things like ...).
Example of たり
映画を見たり、本を読んだり、昼寝したりする。
I watch films, read books and take naps.’
Let us break down this sentence to understand its meaning:
- 見たり: 見る means
see, and here it is conjugated in the form in た (見る -> 見る-> 見た) and added り - 読んだり: 読む means
read, and here is conjugated in the form in た (読む -> 読~~む~ -> 読んだ) and added り - したりする: したり is the form in た (past tense) of the verb する (
to do) +り + the last する according to this structure.
アルバイトでは、料理を作ったり、お皿を洗ったりします。
In my part-time job I do things like cooking and washing dishes.
最近の天気は暑かったり、寒かったりします。
The weather is hot and cold lately.
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