Can I use なる with positive verbs?

Question

So I find the pattern Negative verb/ i-adjective + なる very convenient, because, at least I think, it shows the change from a state into another.

For instance:

それをもうしないと約束するなら、怒らなくなる。

For me it puts emphasis in the actual state of being angry and the change that might come to a different state. While just using 怒らない would just mean that you won't be angry.

Now my question is, can we do that with positive verbs? And if we can, is it common/natural to do so?

I don't know exactly how that could be done, but my attempt would be something like this:

それをすれば、怒るようになる。 - If you do that, I'll change from my "not angry" state, to an angry state.

or maybe:

それをすれば、怒ってなってくる。

Thanks in advance! Also, besides grammar, if any of my assumptions are incorrect, please let me know.

Answer 1

You seem to misunderstand 怒るようになる or おこらなくなる. It doesn't mean state change from being not angry to being angry or vise versa, but to acquire furious tendency or so.

If you combine with an adjective, you can use 腹立たしい → 腹立たしくなる. However, it doesn't give the effect you wanted. It rather softens or blurs the boundary.

What you wanted will be （そう しないと約束したら）もう怒らない (recommended) / 怒るのをやめる and （そう したら）おこる.

Answer 2

While I did find a couple examples that appear to follow the same construction that you are asking about (て＋なる）, but they are very few and only coincidentally linked. The alternatives which already exist and are in common use (which have been mentioned by yourself) would be the best forms to use.

As verbs such as 怒る and 喜ぶ already have the meaning of ‘to enter a state of ____’ implicit, it would seem redundant to place なる directly next to them.

For this reason, the alternatives: 「怒るようになる」 &　「怒ってくる」 would be best:

怒るようになる / 怒るようになってくる - ‘Enter a state of getting angry (become angry).’.

.

それをすれば、怒ってなってくる。

While I do not find the above difficult to understand or implement, I think that most native speakers would avoid using such a form, as it just doesn’t sound as natural or grammatical.

Maybe someone will be able to provide a better, more grammatical explanation than mine.