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I know that ようにする means _**to be sure to do something**_ , but how does it get
this meaning from adding にする to よう (which means _**appear to be/similar to**_
)？

In other words, how does:

> よう + にする = to be sure to do something

What is よう doing in ようにする?
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2022-03-14T19:06:49.710
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question
grammar meaning
How does adding にする to よう change its meaning?
Native speakers don’t necessarily see the ように in ようになる or ようにする as the same
thing as the ように in, say, ように見える, which describes what your perception or
impression is like.

However, they are certainly related. If you choose to, you could understand
the ように in ようになる and ようにする as describing what the result of a change would be
**like**.

Consider the following sentence as an example.

> 新聞が読めるようになる。  
>  You will be able to read newspapers.

新聞が読める describes the target state you think the person will be in when the
change in question has happened. The connection with the other usage may be
clearer when ように is used with a noun.

> 学者のようになる。  
>  You will be like a scholar.

This practically means the same as the following with みたい.

> 学者みたいになる。

ように in this sense is not usually used with an adjective. There is a better way
to say the same thing.

> 賢くなる。  
>  You will be smart.

> 綺麗になる。  
>  You will be beautiful.

When ように is used with a verb, that verb normally refers to a state, not a one-
time action or change. In the first example, a potential form is used to
describe a state where you have the ability to do something. When a dictionary
form is used, it is still understood as referring to a state, a habitual state
to be more precise.

> 新聞を読むようになる。  
>  You will get into the habit of reading newspapers.

Note that ように cannot be replaced with みたいに in these examples with a verb.

ようにする works in the same way except you are the one who actively causes the
change.

> 新聞を読むようにする。  
>  I will make it a habit to read newspapers.

The verbal phrase before ように still describes what the intended target state is
like.

You can also use a more concrete verb instead of する.

> 新聞が読めるように毎日勉強する。  
>  I will study everyday so that I will be able to read newspapers.

This may make it easer to understand that ように describes what the intended
target state is like because of the way it is translated into English. It now
neatly corresponds to “so that.”

On the other hand, it becomes syntactically similar to a sentence like this.

> 貪るように毎日勉強する。  
>  He studies everyday as if to “devour” (books).

In this sentence, ように is used to describe how something is done as you
perceive it, just like the ように in ように見える. We know that because it is hard to
interpret 貪る as describing a habitual state, and it is much more normal to
understand it as referring to an action to which the way he studies is
likened. In short, you need context to determine in which meaning ように is used.
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answer