86588
EDIT: Apparently I read the answers wrong, and the correct answer is actually
the one I chose, i.e. 書こうにも.

Then my question would be focused on the difference between these two forms. I
guess in this fixed usage 書こう would be the grammatical one to use, while 書きよう
would be used when the speaker wants to make a proposal in general, even
though both are "volitional forms"? Or is my understanding incorrect.

* * *

Question from Shin Kanzen Master N1 Grammar:

手を怪我してしまった。これでは急ぎの書類を＿書けない。

I chose 書こうにも but the answer was 書きようにも

However, there was a real question from the 1995 N1 exam that was:

こう毎日レポートや試験に追われていては、国の両親に手紙を書こうにも書けない。

which used 書こうにも

Therefore this question was quite confusing to me.

I guess a more general question would also be, is there any difference between
these two forms for any word, or are they both volitional forms which are
interchangeable in most situations?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-11T13:10:32.460
86587
2021-05-11T23:20:19.707
2021-05-11T23:20:19.707
4959
4959
question
grammar word-choice word-usage jlpt volitional-form
What would be the difference between 書こう and 書きよう when used in this sentence?
I believe the correct answer should be 「書こうにも」.

Grammatical sentences are:

> 「手を怪我してしまった。これでは急ぎの書類を **書こうにも書けない** 。」  
>  「こう毎日レポートや試験に追われていては、国の両親に手紙を **書こうにも書けない** 。」

「書き **よう** にもかけない」 is not correct.

The formula is: 「volitional form 書こう + にも + potential negative 書けない」.

書きよう is not the volitional form. It's 書き+[様]{よう}, "way of writing".

To use 「書きよう」 you could say:

「～の **書きようがない** 。」 "There's no way to write..."
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-11T13:52:37.743
86588
2021-05-11T13:52:37.743
9831
86587
answer