なくて Negative て-form - Examples - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

not and
not so
because not

Structure

  • Verb[ な い] + くて + B
  • い-Adj[く な い] + くて + B
  • な-Adj + で(は) なくて /じゃ なくて + B
  • Noun + で(は) なくて /じゃ なくて + B

[When なくて is used with verbs it is mostly used to describes reason or cause]
[While ないで can also be used to express reason/cause, many native speakers only consider なくて to be natural]

[An adjective’s なくて form is also used to link qualities and states]
[The following clause (B) is often limited to expressing the speaker’s feelings, verbs in potential form or, in general, something beyond the control of the speaker]

[なくて is often used with 困る、嬉しい、大変、びっくり、疲れている、心配、休む、安心、◯が痛い、気持ちがいい etc.]

View on Bunpro

1 Like
#2

Very minor gripe but I feel like this should be higher priority than the last grammar point in N4 considering it’s used in previous lessons, unless I’m missing something.

#3

「ごめんね。一緒に映画館に行けなくて。」
“I was not able to go to the cinema (together) with you and I am sorry.”

What tells me to translate this in past tense and not in present tense (“I am not able to go to the cinema (together) with you and I am sorry.”)? How would you have to change the Japanese sentence to be translated in present tense?

#4

So I just have a general question

Mainly about this^
If I were trying to speak a bit of japanese and I was using ないで where it’s more correct to use なくて how much would that impact the sentence? As in would they still mainly understand what I’m trying to say but just think “This clearly isn’t a native speaker”?
Or would it change the meaning of a sentence in a meaningful way.

#5

I think you’d be understood using either ないで・なくて, depending on the context. Whether confusing the two would critically impact the sentence would probably depend on exactly what you’re saying. You would certainly run the risk of identified as a non-native speaker, but believe me, Japanese people will know you’re not a native speaker for many more reasons than simply confusing ないで・なくて. :wink:

The main case where ないで・なくて are interchangeable is when talking about cause and effect. In that case, there are four different constructs that can be used (ないで・なくて・ないから・ないので), but から・ので are more direct, whereas ないで・なくて are more indirect. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar goes into more detail about this on pp. 272, 280. Here’s a key excerpt:

Otherwise, ないで and なくて have their respective meanings as Bunpro helpfully articulates them.

1 Like
#6

Most certainly I simply didn’t read properly, but …. This one seems weird to me:

。。。けどお金が 。。。買えないんです

The correct answer (i.e. the one that the system wants) is なくて, but in the grammar Info it says that nouns come with じゃなくて / ではなくて.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

2 Likes
#7

A noun would use ではなくて etc. when it’s the noun itself that’s being negated. But this sentence isn’t saying “it’s not money”, it’s saying “I have no money” or “there is no money”. It’s the verb ある that’s being negated, not the noun お金.

The spot following the noun is also already taken by the particle が.

2 Likes
#8

Hello! Something that bugged me a little bit… if someone could help.
From the explanation:

なくて is often used when the phrase that comes before it is being highlighted as an example/reason for a specific result. In these situations, the translation is usually ‘because not (A), (B)’, or ‘because I didn’t (A), (B)’.

What is the difference between using なくて vs. から or ので for expressing “because/since”? From some of the examples given:

このスマホは便利ではなくて残念だ。
Since this smartphone is not useful, it’s a letdown.
このスマホは便利じゃない から/ので、残念だ。

虫歯ではなくて安心した。
I am relieved because it was not a cavity.
虫歯じゃない から/ので、安心した。

昨日は良く寝なくて、疲れている。
I am tired because I did not sleep well yesterday.
昨日は良寝なかった から/ので、疲れている。

明日は仕事がなくて嬉しい。
I am happy because I don’t have work tomorrow.
明日は仕事がない から/ので、嬉しい。

Right now, if I were asked to write the sentence from Eng → Jap I would probably do it using から or ので. Would they still work, or are から and ので not used in the case of negative statements?

Thanks in advance!

3 Likes
#9

random question, less on the actual content but the example sentences…

今日 は寒くはなくて暖かいから why is it 寒くは？isn’t it 寒い? I know it only becomes 寒く in situations like 寒くない so I don’t know why it becomes 寒くはなくて

same situation with the other example…

あなたが来れなくて残念です。 specifically with furigana as これ, when the closest conjugation I can think of is 来られる where 来 is read as 'こ’

am I just not getting it? since i haven’t encountered any of this in any of the past lessons and I’m very confused

2 Likes
#10

I actually have the same problem right now. In the sentence “あなたが来れなくて残念です” wtf is the 来れ supposed to be? In conjugation dictionaries I can’t find this form anywhere.
Same in the following sentence “昨日は良く寝れなくて、疲れている”. What is this れ conjugation supposed to be? I’m sure it hasn’t been explained before.

#11

I believe it’s potential form. When making ichidan る verbs into potential the “official” way is られる→寝られる able to sleep, but younger generations are just omitting the ら if the context is clear. So if you assume this is what the sentences are doing, the sentences make sense.
昨日は良く寝れなくて、疲れている
I wasn’t able to sleep well yesterday and (because of it) I’m tired

1 Like
#12

Thank you for the explanation, that’s probably how it is intended

1 Like
#13

Hi, it is probably a bit nitpicky, but I think the structure part in the lesson should be like here in the forum.

In the lesson it is

image
image799×354 20.6 KB

Which does not show you to change the i-adjective or the nai form.
It is not a big deal of course but because it is better shown in this post and in the first なくて lesson, so why do it different in this lesson?