Like any other i-adjective, they can be conjugated but I read a few example sentences of the i-adjective "無い" and I can't find any sentences where it was conjugated.
2 Answers
Yes ない conjugates like any other i-adjectives do.
- 大きくなかった。 It was not big.
- リンゴはなかった。 There were no apples.
- 高くなくて、安くもない。 It is neither expensive nor cheap.
The ku-form (aka adverb form) is sometimes used, too, but it usually sounds slightly awkward:
- [?] 美しくなく踊った。 He danced not beautifully.
-
1I might be wrong, but I feel that it does indeed conjugate like any other i-adjective but normally it is not written with a kanji if it's part of another conjugation, as in the above examples. That may have been the part that confused him. Apr 30, 2018 at 18:49
You can check out this pretty thorough listing of ない conjugations here.
According to the link:
- ない is the Terminal form as well as the Attributive form.
- なく is the Continuative form as well as the Adverbial construction.
- なかろ is the Imperfective form.
- なけれ is the Hypothetical form.
- なかれ is the Imperative form.
- なくない is the Informal Negative construction.
- なかった is the Informal Past construction.
- なくなかった is the Informal Negative Past construction.
- ないです is the Formal construction.
- なくないです is the Formal Negative construction.
- なかったです is the Formal Past construction.
- なくなかったです is the Formal Negative Past construction.
- なくて is the Conjunctive construction.
- なければ is the Conditional construction.
- なかったら is the Provisional construction.
- なかろう is the Volitional construction.
- なさ is the Degree construction.
As you can see, there are many ways to conjugate this adjective. If you wish, I can expand on this answer.
-
Thanks i really thought nai can't be conjugated. So nai was the one used to make nouns and adj negative? Apr 30, 2018 at 14:20
-
Well, I don't know about negating nouns, but ない is used in negating adjectives and verbs. Also, ない can be translated as “There is no...” in sentences talking about the existence of something. Being able to conjugate ない comes in handy for those sentences! Apr 30, 2018 at 17:02