-naku natte (imasu)

[TexMurphy01]

Hi there.

Well, I guess the question is mostly in the title there. I've had a teacher explain what -naku natte (imasu) means, but I just can't seem to get it. Therefore I'm coming here in hopes of an alternative explanation.

Also, since I'm already confused about this one, I would appreciate it if the explanation were nice and simple.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Toritoribe]

"-Naku naru" means "(did in the past but) becomes not to do". "-Te iru" form expresses the current state that results from prior movements in this case, so "-naku natte iru" means "(did in the past but) doesn't do now".

 

[TexMurphy01]

Hi there Toritoribe. Before I say my reply, I just want to say that I'm grateful that you spend so much time helping people on this forum.

Alright, so the example I was discussing with my teacher was to say how people have less time these days.

Her suggestion was: hitobito wa jibun no tame no jikan ga sukunaku natte imasu.

I understand it mostly I guess, but the key part I do not understand, which is the part in this thread. Following your example, what this says (I think) is that people used to have little time, but now this is not so. If this is what it says, I'm not sure how the translation works. If I say in English, "People used to have not much time, but this is no longer the case," it leaves open the question: how much time do people have now? It does not specify that people have less time than they used to.

So, any help with my confusion?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Toritoribe]

You are confusing "sukunaku"; the -ku form of an i-adjective "sukunai" and "-naku"; the -ku form of the negative suffix "-nai". "Sukunaku" is NOT negative.;-)

 

[Angel Valis]

So in his example 少なく (sukunaku) is the adverbial form of 少ない (sukunai), correct? And if it was negative then it would be 少なくなく (sukunakunaku). Which sounds odd, is that natural sounding at all? I feel like a negative sentence would use an antonym like 多い (ooi).

 

[TexMurphy01]

Ah, I see now what the problem was. Thanks for clearing up the confusion.

 

[Toritoribe]

So in his example 少なく (sukunaku) is the adverbial form of 少ない (sukunai), correct? And if it was negative then it would be 少なくなく (sukunakunaku). Which sounds odd, is that natural sounding at all? I feel like a negative sentence would use an antonym like 多い (ooi).

"少なくない" - Google Search

As you can see the result 約 8,540,000 件, 「少なくない」が使われることは少なくないです. 少なくない has different nuance from 多い.