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~てform of the adjectives

dhmkhkk

後輩
25 Jun 2017
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Hi there,

I'm learning different forms of the adjectives now, one of them is the ~て form. The explanation was, when you use adjectives to connect two sentences or when you enumerate adjectives, you should use the ~て form. e.g.:

たなかさんは せがたかくて、とても かっこいい ひと です
(Mr. Tanaka is a tall, very handsome person)

すしを たべなくて、 ぎゅうどんも たべない。
(I don't eat sushi; I don't eat gyuudon either. - I made that up, hope it works like that :emoji_wink:)

And then I came across dake dewa naku ...~mo, particularly this example:
さちこは あたまが よかった だけ では なく、とても しんせつ でした
(Sachiko was not only smart but also kind)

Question: aren't "nai" forms of the verbs also handled as i-adjectives? Shouldn't it be だけ では なくて?
 
Indeed the negative form of verbs performs like i-adjectives for instance when conjugating, but they are not the same.
First of all, the -ku form of i-adjectives can be used to connect clauses as same as the -te form. It's quite the same as the -masu stem and the -te form of verbs are both used to connect clauses. However, the -ku form of the negative form of verbs is not used for enumerating. Instead, し is used for that purpose. Incidentally, し also can be used to enumerate adjectives or verbs.
e.g.
寿司も食べるし、牛丼も食べる。
寿司も食べないし、牛丼も食べない。
田中さんは背が高いし、とてもかっこいいです。

As for the difference in meaning between the -ku form and the -te form of i-adjectives,
the former is more coordinate-like, and the latter is more subordinate-like. Thus, 背が高く、とてもかっこいい are just listing two characteristics, but 背が高くて、とてもかっこいい can have a nuance that 背が高い is the reason/cause of とてもかっこいい. In other words, when the first clause is clearly the cause/reason of the main clause, the -te form is more natural than the -ku form.
e.g.
昨日の夜は寒くて(=寒かったので)、風邪をひきました。
Since it was cold last night, I have caught a cold.

The same difference also applies to the -masu stem and the -te form of verbs, but the -masu stem is more likely written-words-like, and the -te form of verbs sounds more colloquial.

Second, you also need to learn a fact that another -te form ~ないで exists for the negative form of verbs. ~ないで has broader meaning than ~なくて, and ~なくて is mostly used to express "cause/reason".
e.g.
寿司を食べないで、刺身ばかり食べた。
I ate only sashimi without eating sushi.

寿司を食べられなくて(=食べられないので)、悲しい。
I feel sad since I can't eat sushi.

And finally, よかっただけではなく is not the negative/"nai" form of a verb. だけ works as a noun, and ではなく is the -ku form of a negative form of the copula だ/です.

よかっただけだ --> よかっただけではない --> よかっただけではなく

よかっただけではなくて can be valid there, but なく is more natural since 頭がよかっただけではない is not the cause/reason of とても親切でした, as same as the case of the -te form of i-adjectives.
 
Thank you, I think i understand it better now. So, would it be completely wrong to say すしを たべなくて、 ぎゅうどんも たべない? Because I feel like it is not enumeration really, but two different statements. You could place a full stop . between the two parts.
 
You seems to be misunderstanding something. Your sentence is exactly enumeration of action or volition. That's why I gave an example 寿司も食べないし、牛丼も食べない。 with using し. The reason 寿司を食べなくて/食べないで、牛丼も食べない sounds awkward is that the relation between the two clause in meaning. 寿司を食べなくて/食べないで is not the cause/reason, means or state of the main clause 牛丼も食べない.
When a period "。" is put after 食べなくて/食べないで, the meaning is changed. It's interpreted as an omission of the word followed it, for instance 食べなくて悲しい/困る or imperative 食べないで(ください) "(please) do not eat".
 
Ahhhh so how about おかし を たべなくて、やせている? Or is the cause/result relation too strong to use just ~nakute?

Thanks! :)
 
食べなくて/食べないでやせた is acceptable, but 食べないので is more common for the reason/cause of やせた/やせている.
 
Hi Toritoribe,

I have just come across the し topin in Genki and wanted to make sure I understood you correctly,

Incidentally, し also can be used to enumerate adjectives or verbs.
寿司も食べるし、牛丼も食べる。

What I have just lernt is the following: "When you want to mention not just one but two or more reasons, you can use し in place of から.

reason1 し, reason2 し, situation.

e.g. 日本語はおもしろいし、先生はいいし、私は日本語の授業が大好きです。

So is the verb+し, verb +し construction used for giving a reason or just plain enumeration? If for both, how do you know if it's enumeration or reason?
 
Thank you!!
did i get this right: so basically し does nothing more that connect 2 sentences like や with nouns? It doesn't have a secret meaning "because", but since it's clear from the context, it CAN be translated as "because"?
 
Now I am a bit confused because I thought the や of the sentence clauses is ~たり, ~たりする. But then again, it's 2 in the morning so maybe my brain just needs some rest.
 
Thank you. I understand the tiny differences, but I find the constructions way too similar to be able to differentiate them yet. e.g.
日本でたくさん食べたり、買い物をしたりしたいです。

You wrote once that this sentence is correct. But since ~tari has a nuance of doing things sometimes, I think the sentence above is not the best example. Or am I missing something?

Would the following work as well? And if yes, how would it be different from the first sentence?
日本でたくさん食べたいし、買い物をしたいです。
 
It's actually "sometimes". You are not always eating much/continue eating, unlike "can read Japanese books", right? That's what I mean by "sometimes", not "always".
The meaning is the same in those sentences.
 
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