Missing grammar list

:slightly_smiling_face:

I think they could add in the definition so it shows up in searches (otherwise ‘as long as’ sounds replaceable to me).

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I can confirm this! I never learned the negative te-form except through the other grammar points on Bunpro that required it. I was absolutely baffled by it for a while before realizing that there did indeed exist a negative te-form. Which I guess is one way to learn it…

Are there other resources on the negative te-form? Alternatively, I think adding it as an N5 grammar point could be really useful for some of the grammar forms later on (though it isn’t terribly difficult)

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If it’s not already covered by 文プロ, then maybe the negative て-form should be split into two grammar points: なくて and ないで? I sometimes catch myself tripping over which I should use (or at least, having to pause to think about it).

 

Edit:

More specifically, I think it was ~なくてよかった or ~ないでよかった that I last wondered about. After some brief searching, it seems that they’re both valid, but there are other scenarios where the two aren’t interchangeable: https://www.alc.co.jp/jpn/article/faq/03/2.html

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There’s one for ないで

なくて is just basic い-adjective て-form, bunpro doesn’t seem to have a lot of items for these fundamentals in general

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Right, ~ないで is exclusively for verbs (i.e. incompatible with い-adjectives) as far as I’m aware, but negative verbs can function adjectivally (like when they’re in front of a noun to form a relative clause). So… there’s some overlap in the applicability of ~なくて and ~ないで, but it’s not a complete overlap.

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Reposting this comment by @notgreen here to consolidate:

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From Integrated Approach on page 246:
Nたら・Nったら = informal topic marker, gives a sense of surprise, disbelief, reproach, etc.
よっぽど・よほど = considerably; really; to a great extent

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I thought that grammar was on Bunpro already? I’m sure it’s there under N3?

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There are other points with ばかり, but none with か. As far as I can tell with a quick look, ばかりか ~= ばかりでなく, but it’d be nice to learn of any differences in meaning or usage.

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A quick search yielded this on JLPT sensei. Gonna add the note to my ばかりでなく entry now, thx!

Grammar Notes

  • This grammar can be interchanged with ばかりでなく (bakari denaku)
  • They have the same meanings, but ばかりでなく (bakari denaku) is slightly less strong.
  • This grammar point is often followed with a も and a second point. As in not only [A], but also [B].
  • Based off of the N3 Grammar lesson: ばかり (bakari)
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Has anyone mentioned the construction:

Adjective+く+は+ない

I think it means “it’s not not (adjective)” or strengthens the meaning of something. I’ve seen it on Duolingo and friend just used it to answer the question below but she couldn’t explain what it means.

Aさん:コロナには怖いと思いますか?
Bさん:怖くはないです。

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Reminds me of the opening to Shelter (@0:36):

でも、寂しくはない。
“But I’m not lonely.”

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I’ve seen this called and interpreted as both “contrastive wa” (with the contrast possibly only being implied) and as “emphatic wa” (emphasizing the following ない). It’s not limited to adjectives or negation with ない though.

The verb version might be interesting too (stemはする/しない etc.)

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I did a search for this but didn’t see it. たかったら, “if you want”.

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They do have an example sentence under たら that uses that combo of ~たい+たら.

もし食たべに行いきたかっ たら 、行いこう。
If you want to go out to eat, let’s go!

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More from Integrated Approach, page 269:

NにはNの~がある = N has its own ~

N1はN1なりにV = N1 does things in its own way
N1はN1なりのN2 = N1 has its own N2

Page 271:

Vてくれたらと思います = I wish someone would do something; I hope someone does something
Vてくれたらいい(のに)と思います

Page 291:

って・というか = or rather; more appropriately

どっち・どちらかと言うと = rather (than); if anything

Page 292:

N(と) 同様 = similarly; just like

単に~ではない = not merely/simply

Nの余地がない = there is no room for ~

Page 293

Nに(は)かなわない = to be no match for ~; can’t win ~

V(stem)づらい = difficult to V

Nにこだわる・こだわらない = (not) to be particular about; (not) to be picky

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@nekoyama @Kai In case you guys were interested, my friend, who works at a school, asked her linguistics friends who then consulted with educational professionals about the meaning of Adj+は+ない and here’s what they said:

「怖い」(形容詞)の否定形は「怖くない」。「怖くない」は単純に「怖い」の反対の意味です。 「怖くはない」の場合、助詞「は」が入ることによって、ニュアンスが変わりますが 「怖くはないけれど、気持ち悪い」とか、他の感情が含意されますね。 「は」は区別の意味を持つので、そういうニュアンスが生じるのだと思います。

So it seems to imply left out information that is similar but not exactly the same as what is being negated. Kinda in the same way you can use 「なら」 to replace,「 日本語が話せる。でも、ドイツ語が話せません。」with「日本語なら話せる」。

So if I had to give an English translation I’d probably choose “Not (Adjective) but…” Though Duo’s choice of “not not (Adjective)” could sort of work too.

例えば、

それは高くはないです。
“It’s not expensive but…”
“It’s not not expensive”

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Oh, very cool, thanks!!

I feel like I’ve read about this usage of は (often referred to as “the contrastive は”) countless times, but there’s something especially reassuring about finally seeing it described/explained in native Japanese :wink:

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Found a new grammar point that could be added :slight_smile:

I was looking for a way to express that something is effectively “◯ itself,” almost like an embodiment or representative example of ◯. At least for な-adjectives, the phrase that turned up is そのもの . I think it’s especially interesting, since in this usage, その gets appended directly to な-adjectives without any な at all:

ナ形容詞につくときは、「真剣そのもの・元気そのもの・窮屈そのもの・幸せそのもの・正直そのもの・熱心そのもの…」のように、「非常に~だ」という程度強調の表現になります。

Simply put: [な-adj.] + そのもの = 非常に (extremely) [な-adj.]

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Found another one, taken from a journal entry in some indie horror game:

―古い日記2―
高熱を出したことを境に、娘の様子がおかしくなった。

I found one single entry for ◯を境に (をさかいに) in 英辞郎:

~を境に(人)に連絡しなくなる
to stop contacting someone since

 

Looks like it means “(ever) since ◯, …”

I guess it looks pretty obvious once you’ve seen the explanation, but it really threw me for a loop since を was being used without a followup verb in the first clause :sweat_smile:

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