N5 Grammar - う - Verbs (negative form)

Bunpro
#1

In this grammar lesson there is a note at the end:

Caution: The ない attached to make the negative form of adjectives is a different word, and therefore follows different conjugation rules. The ない attached to adjectives is an い-Adjective itself, and not an auxiliary verb.

I was under the impression that the ない used to negate verbs (話(はな)さない) is also an い adjective (auxiliary adjective if you will) and does conjugates the same.

  • 話(はな)さなかった (didn’t talk)
  • 楽(たの)しくなかった (wasn’t fun)

The adjective has different rules from the verb, but the ない auxiliary itself conjugates the same, doesn’t it?

Maybe I’m missing something or have something wrong here, but it is very confusing to me that something that looks and acts like an い adjective wouldn’t actually be an い adjective.

2 Likes
#2

I think that note actually means exactly what you said: since ない is a 形容詞, it follows those conjugation rules, instead of those for 動詞. This is kind of obvious if you already know the difference between the two, but this is an N5 lesson, after all. They’re just wanting beginners to not get confused.

1 Like
#3

Hi @asterlea , for the most part, the auxiliary verb ない, and the い-Adjective ない are the same. However, the primary difference is in the way that they connect to the word that comes before them, not after.

The auxiliary verb is not an independent word (able to be used by itself), while the い-Adjective is. What this means is the following:

楽しく（は）ない - correct, words or particles may go between the adjective conjunctive stem and ない.

話さ（は）ない - incorrect, ない must be attached directly to the verb at all times.

It is actually very common to see the ない being separated away from い-Adjectives, with some sort of short description put before it. I hope this helps :blush:

7 Likes
#4

Thanks for the reply! That’s definitely some new information, I didn’t know that the adjectives could be split up like that.

1 Like
#5

@Asher @asterlea I would say the Caution note is a bit confusing and could use some clarification. A suggestion:

Caution: The ない attached to make the negative form of adjectives is a different word from the ない used with verbs. While the conjugation rules appear similar, this ない is an auxiliary verb whereas the ない for adjectives is an い-Adjective itself.

Feel free to edit further. Emphasized the point that these are different words. Took out final “attached” because, as you showed, it’s not always attached.

2 Likes
#6

You are right Fred, upon reflection it could certainly be clearer. I will change it now. Another way we aim to combat this problem in the future is through blog posts as well, which will go far more in-depth about small things like this. This will more than likely come in the form of hotlinks within the information sections themselves to recommended blogs.

6 Likes