Questions tagged [negation]
否定. Questions regarding the various words, particles, inflections, and constructions employed to negate a word or sentence from its positive form.
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How is ではいけませんか used in this sentence?
My understanding is that the sentence was reverse so it's
あなたと私の出会いのように運命だから、(thought it may be wrong)
However I'm not sure how to take ではいけませんか?
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Negation in concurrent verbs
I saw this sentence in my workbook:
スープは音を立てて飲まないのがいいマナーとされる。
and I found many cases of 音を立てて飲まない on Google.
This expression seems to mean "to not drink, while making sounds", instead of &...
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Meaning of verb + negative-verb
While reading 君死にたもう流星群 vol. 4, I found this sentence:
黒井{くろい}の本はまったく売れない。いや、売れる売れないというレベルではなく、開始二時間が経つというのに誰ひとり客が来ない
Kuroi is attending together with the main character an event like Comiket, and ...
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Past verb + んじゃない what is his function?
兄貴は夢を叶えたんじゃない
Which I think it's like "My brother didn't fulfill his wish"
What difference is from 兄貴は夢を叶えなかった
?
Edit the whole sentence is:
お兄さんは"夢"を"約束"に変えてくれた.
...
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じゃなくて + verb: What are their uses?
私のこと大事にしてくれるから優しくしようと引くじゃなくて
うんと話して好きにして欲しい
For what I understand the character is saying that because the other character cares about them, he has drawing back in an attempt to be kind, but the ...
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なぜ + ないこともなかった, what is this double negative?
でも正直なぜ裕子さんだけと思わないこともなかった
I am very confused about this use of ないこともなかった.
What exactly is it trying to say?
I don't understand the double negative. "I also never happened that I didn't think"...
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the meaning of てませんか in this sentence
俺は恵子に何も感じてないので 男女の関係は一切ないです
I don't have any feelings toward 恵子, so our relationship isn't one of a man and a woman
確かに...
That's true/etc.
And then he answers:
疑ってませんか?
I'm confused by the ...
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How does Japanese grammar think about verb negation?
In a recent comment I claimed that ない was a verb which was the negative form of ある. I was surprised by the reply that "ない is an adjective (or adjective-like auxiliary) anyway, not a form of ある&...
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Why できないじゃない isn't double negation? [duplicate]
My question is about a line from a the song "Innocent Arrogance". The relevant verse goes like this:
見せたくないものばかりを
見せないから
大事なものさえも見つからない
綺麗なままでいることはできないじゃない
僕らは 僕らは 進もう
I've marked in bold ...
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Use of んじゃないんだ in this sentence
何で高校の制服。。?
Why I got to wear a high school uniform?
最高に似合ってる
It fits you the best!
And the answer is
感想を求めたんじゃないんだよな
What is the purpose of んじゃないんだin this sentence? I guess he saying he didn't ask ...
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ます-stem + もしない with 歌う and 書く
After getting an answer to this question I came across this article which states (without giving an alternative) that you can't say:
1.「歌い もしない」- "Can't even sing"
2.「書き もしない」- "Can't ...
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What is this "のと" performing here? "とこ" as a suffix? And how to parse this sentence with "別に"?
Firstly I have this sentence with のと; the context being a girl helping a boy with a math problem that he got wrong. She is literally sitting next to him and says:
でここはマイナスかけるマイナスになるのと計算の順番を注意
At ...
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Natural way of saying "I don't think X"
I was wondering if someone could tell me the natural way of saying "I don't think X". The reason is I wrote the following sentence:
普通の食品店で売っていると思いません。
I don't think it's sold at the normal ...
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I am wondering when it is proper and improper to end a sentence with じゃない in informal context
So if you're saying "No, I dont live in Osaka" would you then be able to say いいえ大阪に住んでじゃない or do you have to say 大阪に住んでいません? Also if you can't just use it whenever, why not? Is じゃない reserved ...
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Negative form of お腹が空きました
I understand that お腹が空きました means "I am hungry" since its literal translation would be "My stomach has become empty". Meanwhile, お腹が空きます is closer to "I get hungry" as in ...
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A hat salesman asks 「帽子を買いませんか?」. Is this an invitation, or a negative question?
In various grammar resources, I've read that a present/future-tense volitional verb, in negative-question form (買いませんか？) becomes an invitation pattern, unless ~の(ですか) is added.
「買いませんか?」 = invitation.
...
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Is there a general way to communicate the idea of a non-A where A is any noun? [duplicate]
I’m trying to say “Survivorship bias is a logical fallacy that leads to the consideration of survivors as opposed to non-survivors.” Is there a way to say non-survivors, or more so non-anything? For ...
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~すまいて after a verb
I've come across this sentence with ~すまいて after a verb. I've never seen it like that before, but I'm assuming it is a form of ~済まい:
「いくらも進んでおりませぬよ。儂の命のあるうちに終わりますまいて」
I can't make any progress. It ...
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Grammar of Shinunoga E-wa lyric: "そんなダサいこと もうしたないのよ goodbye"
I am have trouble understanding this verse そんなダサいこと もうしたないのよ goodbye
The context is
失って初めて気がつくなんて
そんなダサいこと もうしたないのよ goodbye
My translation:
Line 1: The is bad-thing [なんて] it is the first time [初めて] ...
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How to convert negated na-adjectives to adverbs?
I know when I want to use a な-adjective as an adverb then we have to use に particle instead of な. For example:
簡単{かんたん}に説明{せつめい}しました。
But I'm curious how to use negated な-adjectives as adverbs. ...
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I don't understand the translation order of スカートは試着して買わないと心配だ。 [duplicate]
I think how to translate this could be...
① スカートは
② 試着して
③ 買わないと
④ 心配だ
That should make the translation go...
"The skirt, I tried it on, If I don't buy, I feel worried."
But in the book it ...
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Understanding the sentence 朝のラッシュは何とかならないものか
I encountered the following multiple-choice question on page 118 (question 4 in section 3) of my JLPT N2 grammar textbook 「新完全マスター文法 日本語能力試験Ｎ２」:
朝のラッシュは何とか（ ）ものか。
ａ ならない ｂ しない ｃ なれない
I had ...
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Use cases of していない/してない
I've seen this form show up a few times. In a past Japanese class, I was told that it could be used in the sense of "I haven't done X yet", as in まだ宿題をしてない.
Also, I was told that 知っている in ...
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Usage of 「書かない」referring to famous authors
In Yorushika's song "Hitchcock"'s lyrics appears the sentence:
ニーチェもフロイトもこの穴の埋め方は書かないんだ
Which is translated as "Neither Nietche nor Freud wrote about how to fill this hole" by ...
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Beku and bekarazu, I don't get how the zu form even become like that or am I thinking of two different verbs?
I was looking at a website for beku and bekarazu, however, I think bekarazu is the zu form of beku and it just doesn't make sense. I would make it べかず instead of べからず because it appeared on a website ...
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When conjugating adjectives, can we use the normal form of the adjective and use the copula です to indicate its form?
This is specifically for い-adjectives, as な-adjectives work this way.
For example, when I want to say something is not delicious I'd usually say おいしくない.
Would it be possible to use おいしい じゃありません and ...
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What is the name of the grammar structure where people say "V1して + V2しない" meaning "V1しないで + V2する" [closed]
What I mean is what is happening in this sentence: 宿題をして行かない生徒が多いです meaning "There are many students who go (to school) without having done their homework". I would like to know the name of ...
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Is there a difference between ます and ません for sentences carrying an exclusive connotation(しか)?
私は野菜しか食べません。
apparently means "I only eat vegetables"? Shouldn't there be a negative connotation with the ません-ending?
If that's the case what does 私は野菜しか食べます mean?
Is there a special ...
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Do ~ではなかったです / ~じゃなかったです sound natural?
I'm compiling a chart for conjugating nouns, i-adjectives, and na-adjectives for a Japanese beginner, but I'm running into some difficulties in the negative tenses. I'd like this chart to be accurate ...
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How does 一回だって in this sentence mean "not even once" when there's no negative?
I came across this sentence watching March Comes In Like a Lion. I'll transcribe it to the best of my ability: (here's the episode though, and the quote happens at 5:46)
僕【ぼく】は遠慮【えんりょ】することにばかり気【き】...
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Why use the negative ない in 自分のことしか考えてない男のはずだ [duplicate]
I saw this sentence in an episode of Attack on Titan
A character that is believed to be selfish does something perceived to be selfless by the the speaker, and the speaker says
自分のことしか考えてない男のはずだ
...
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Why is 暗い conjugated as 暗くsometimes?
I know in past tense, you use く like 暗くない but even in present tense, I see example phrases where 暗く is used.
For instance:
もう暗くなったから、帰りましょう。
I'm a beginner so bear with me please and thanks!
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What is the form of this verb? 見つからない （見つける）
The full sentence is:
この気持ちを表現する適当な言葉が見つからない
I could not find appropriate words to express these feelings. How do we end up with this form in "-karanai"?
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Negative in Japanese, but positive in English translation. Why? 俺は自分が生き残ることしか考えていなかった
俺は自分が生き残ることしか考えていなかった.
the only thing I thought about was surviving.
ore ha jibun ga ikinokoru koto shika kangaeteinakatta.
I don't really understand why in Japanese it uses 考えて in the negative, ...
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Nai form of verbs
Not sure if this is a dumb question but how is the nai form of a verb related to the verb masu stem + nai/nakatta (from aru)?
For example : taberu becomes tabe (masu stem) + nai and same for many ...
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Why the negative form in すぐ行かないと? [duplicate]
I know that you can use the negative form to ask questions but why is it used in this sentence? I believe this sentence translates to "I have to go right away", but it's literally "I ...
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Having trouble making sense of the sentence "解いてから帰らないとすっきりしないんだ"
In the sentence 解いてから帰らないとすっきりしないんだ, from the context I know it means "If I don't go home after solving it, it won't be refreshing" but I just can't make sense of the grammar, below are the ...
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て form of past negative sentence with ちゃう
So I know that to use ちゃう we use the て form a verb and delete the て and add ちゃう, however; how would this work for example with 話す as in
話す->話さない->話さなかった
If to say "I'm not speaking" is ...
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Negative polite ending in compounding sentence
I am a beginner. In the TaeKim Guide textbook, there is a rule for the compounding sentence:
Positive: Conjugate the verb to its past tense and replace 「た」 with 「て」 or 「だ」 with 「で」. This is often ...
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Why does this sentence has a negative connotation and what does 外れ mean in this context?
I came across this sentence "予報外れの雨が降った" in a manga, and it's translated as: " It rained despite the forecast for today". Few things I want to ask:
First, a look up in the dict ...
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Grammar of 見えぬ in 星とたんぽぽ by Misuzu [duplicate]
I'm reading a poem by Misuzu, 星とたんぽぽ。
I don't understand the grammar of this line:
昼のお星は眼にみえぬ。
This is my understanding:
昼のお星は the subject: stars during the daytime
眼に to the eye (why not 目?)
みえぬ I ...
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良かった vs 良かったじゃない [duplicate]
When I watch an anime, the character to use 良かったじゃない to say something is good, but isn't the word じゃない be a negative expression? Why would it still have the same meaning as 良かった which is the positive ...
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How to negate connected verbs which in て-form?
As I know if I connect verbs with て-form then the last verb determine the tense, politeness. But how can I negate the sentence? Should I just negate the last verb or should I negate the verb which in ...
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What does the 何も mean in the bolded positive sentence?
While translating the bolded sentence in the following paragraph, I find myself unable to translate the 何も, as my genki textbook, the online dictionary I am using, and the online textbook I am using ...
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Questions about dialogue in this picture (omitted を、一歩も歩けん) [duplicate]
The dialogue in this picture is simple enough for me up until 一歩も歩けん. The first half makes me expect the whole sentence to be 一歩も引かない but the sentence as a whole confuses me.
What is this 歩けん ...
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Meaning of してならぬ
I found this instance of してならぬ in the following passage:
養父を殺した騎士!
報仇の念が胸に猛った。 血の脈動と共に衝動が全身を駆け、目的を唯一事に定めて走り出そうとする。
そうしてならぬ理由が、何処にあろう。 そんなものは何処にも――
I'm well aware of the usage of してならない to mean "...
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Negative form and て行く (maybe て-form in general)
Sentence: 「おや、Xさん。テストの結果が貼りだされているというのに見て行かなくていいんですか？」
How 見ていく is used here is confounding me. 見て行く would be something like "see the test result and then go his way". I understand that what ...
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Confusing sentence translation: スカートは試着して買わないと心配だ
This sentence came up, translated as:
スカートは試着して買わないと心配だ = I get worried if I don't try on skirts before buying them
To me it says something like 'if I try skirts and don't buy them then I'm worried'
...
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Correct negative form of punctual verbs
Take the verb 座る. As a punctual verb, it appears as 座っている when describing a person who "has sat down and remains sitting." When using the negative, there are two options: 座らない and 座っていない.
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na-adjective + noun: can I negate na-adjective in this case?
I read articles and watch videos but no one mention it is possible to negate na-adjective if it before the noun.
Everywhere just mention that case when no noun after the na-adjective:
これ は かんたん です。 --&...
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