http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/16/p171/ How to "Get Used to" Japanese Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:09:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/16/p171/comment-page-1/#comment-83 claytonian Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:57:26 +0000 http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/13/p171/#comment-83 I found it interesting to note from reading your post, along with Rikaichan help to confirm, that the suffix ども is both plural and singular. Weird. I found it interesting to note from reading your post, along with Rikaichan help to confirm, that the suffix ども is both plural and singular. Weird.

]]> http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/16/p171/comment-page-1/#comment-82 Daniel Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:03:26 +0000 http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/13/p171/#comment-82 Err...maybe that last positive and negative should be changed to "things" instead of "verbs". Err…maybe that last positive and negative should be changed to “things” instead of “verbs”.

]]> http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/16/p171/comment-page-1/#comment-81 Daniel Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:51:08 +0000 http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/13/p171/#comment-81 Yeah, that's a good point. 兼ねない is a pattern that's only familiar to me from JLPT study, but that definitely works. (Anyone out of the loop should read this: http://howtojaponese.com/2008/03/19/an-experience-with-maybe/) Another thing I've been thinking recently is that かもしれない might mean probably <i>will</i> happen for negative verbs and probably <i>won't</i> for positive verbs. Yeah, that’s a good point. 兼ねない is a pattern that’s only familiar to me from JLPT study, but that definitely works. (Anyone out of the loop should read this: http://howtojaponese.com/2008/03/19/an-experience-with-maybe/)
Another thing I’ve been thinking recently is that かもしれない might mean probably will happen for negative verbs and probably won’t for positive verbs.

]]> http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/16/p171/comment-page-1/#comment-80 Matt Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:38:32 +0000 http://howtojaponese.com/2009/01/13/p171/#comment-80 Some more evidence for your theory (maybe): use of "-kanenai" to mean "It might happen", almost always for negative things: 殺され兼ねない, 破産し兼ねない. Hypothesis: the underlying trend is not to avoid saying "nai" per se, but to avoid using it when it would negate a _good_ thing (and prefer it when it would negate a bad one). Some more evidence for your theory (maybe): use of “-kanenai” to mean “It might happen”, almost always for negative things: 殺され兼ねない, 破産し兼ねない. Hypothesis: the underlying trend is not to avoid saying “nai” per se, but to avoid using it when it would negate a _good_ thing (and prefer it when it would negate a bad one).

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