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When using もう and まだ in a negative sense, does the negative verb always have
to be in the present continuous form i.e. 来ていません、食べていません etc? If so why is
that?

Example sentences:

> いいえ、まだ買っていません。- Correct  
>  いいえ、まだ買いません。- Incorrect

My translation: No, I haven’t bought (it) yet.
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question
grammar verbs conjugations
When using もう and まだ does a negative verb always have to be in the (ている) present continuous form?
As far as I know, まだ～していない is the norm and まだ～しない is also possible for many
non-durative intransitive verbs, such as まだ来ない, 届かない, 終わらない, etc.

There may be some subtle differences, e.g. していない may suggest the existence of
some kind of evidence and therefore be more objective, and しない may be more
subjective. Apart form them, I think the two expressions are generally
interchangeable.

If the verb is durative, like `買う`, `まだ～しない` is rarely used and often means
`not going to ... yet` (するつもりはない) rather than `have not ... yet`.

いまだ～せず was used in classical Japanese, and still can be seen in news titles or
something.

* * *

Will it make more sense to you if `ている` means `have (いる/ある) + done (て/た)`?
Similarly, `もう来ています` and `もう買っています` can mean `have already come/bought`, too.
`ている` is an ambiguous and relatively recent invention. So you may still find
something like `まだ食べません/買いません` in old books.

However, “why” is never an easy question to answer. Although ている can mean
“have done” in both positive (すでにしている) and negative (まだしていない) sentences, した is
just more common than している.

As a side note, the した/している/しない/していない (but not しなかった or していなかった) contrast
seems extremely complicated to me when it comes to _the present tense_ or
_untensed expressions_.
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answer
According to [this
paper](https://web.archive.org/web/20150920025304/http://ir.library.osaka-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/11094/6499/1/JLC_38_129.pdf)
(thank you @snailboat) and my own intuitions, the core difference between the
two is _precondition fulfilment_ : -ていない is used simply for the lack of an
action (or its completion), while -ない is used for the lack of of a
precondition being fulfilled for that action to occur.

(The paper talks about it in terms of intentions, but it seems to me that
もう/まだしない verbs can take impersonal subjects as well. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

With まだ, this works out like this:

  * まだしていない is 'the action _isn't completed_ yet' (i.e. it can happen/finish whenever and we're just waiting)

  * まだしない is 'the _conditions for the action beginning aren't fulfilled_ yet' (i.e. there's something still lacking before it can begin, and just waiting isn't going to get us anything if we don't complete the prerequisites)

With もう, it works out like this:

  * もうしていない is 'the action is _no longer occurring_ ' (for whatever reason)

  * もうしない is 'the action _will no longer occur_ ' because a precondition is no longer fulfilled - especially if that precondition is someone's intention (e.g. '[I've decided that] I won't do it anymore').

With もう at least, the difference is perhaps better stated in terms of
_current_ versus _future_ situations. もうしないと決めた is quite fine, since your
decision affects what'll happen in the future, but *もうしてないと決めた is very strange
- since もうしてない is a statement about what's already the case, your decision
should have no bearing on the situation. Similarly, you can say もうしない for 'I
won't do it anymore' even if you're still doing it at the moment, but if you
were still doing it and said もうしていない, you'd be lying.
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answer
_(This was written before @Choko posted her comment but the two seem to
agree.)_

The easiest answer to your question is no, it is not that simple. It depends
on the nature of the verb and what you want to say.

Your reference to "present continuous" suggests that your are not familiar
with concepts such as "stative", "durative", "punctual", "subject change" and
"continuous change" verb groups or the resultative state in Japanese.

This is quite a big subject to explain (there are probably several theories)
but it is the key to the solution you are looking for: I found [this
paper](https://web.archive.org/web/20161003230916/http://homepage3.nifty.com:80/park/aspect.htm),
from @snailboat, quite useful.

**BRIEF EXPLANATION OF UNDERLYING GRAMMAR & USE OF ADVERBS**

There are not really any short cuts to studying something like this but, in
relation to your question, I would summarise this as follows:

Verbs like 来る can be classified as "subject change". In its plain form 来る
describes an unexecuted and (probably) future action. In its ている form, 来ている,
it usually describes an action that has been executed and the result is still
being felt (eg the subject has come and is still here). This is also referred
to as in the resultative state. These verbs are different from verbs such as
騒ぐ which in its ている form describes the continuous action (or state) state of
making noise rather than a "resultative state".

As you know, adverbs such as まだ and もう are used to describe or refine the
action. This can be can be quite important. For example, in the case of

> まだ来ていない

来ていない, as the negative form of 来ている, describes the (opposite) state that has
not happened. The subject has not come (and is therefore not here). The adverb
まだ reinforces this meaning and might be used to imply that somebody was
waiting for it to happen or it was over due.

However, getting back to your question, the adverbs もう and まだ can also be used
with such plain form verbs in the negative form but their appropriateness also
depends what you want to say. For example:

> 彼はもう行かない。= He is not going again. (ie in the future)

Further, although the ている form of subject change verbs are usually used to
describe a resultant state this is not always the case. One way to describe a
continuous state using a subject change verb is by choosing an appropriate
adverb. A good example is the verb 死ぬ, to die. The following sentences should
illustrate this:

> 僕の猫は死ぬ = My cat is going to die.  
>  僕の猫は死んだ = My cat died.(see note 1)  
>  僕の猫は死んでいる = My cat is dead.  
>  **僕の猫はだんだん死んでいる = My cat is slowly dying.**

By adding the adverb だんだん the predicate 死んでいる has changed from resultant state
to continuous state.

So perhaps the answer to your question is:

No. It depends on the nature of the verb and what you want to say. If the
combination of an adverb and a verb does not feel right the best course of
action is to consider what you want to say and whether the sentence you have
made really means what you want it to mean. This is illustrated by the other
example you give:

> いいえ、まだ買っていません。 (A)  
>  いいえ、まだ買いません。 (B)

(A) is correct if you want to say: No I have not bought it yet. (B) might be
correct if for some reason you wanted to say "No, I am still not going to buy
it." (note 2)

* * *

**Note** :

  1. I am not sure if this really flies as an explanation of the difference between 死んだ and 死んでいる so I have made it a note:

If we accept the saying a cat has nine lives then perhaps we can say it has to
die nine times before we can say it is "permanently dead", as in it leaves
this world for the next. If we can say this then perhaps before it loses its
ninth life we can also say:

> 僕の猫は死んだことが8度ある：My has cat died eight times.

...and it would not be correct to use 死んでいる because the cat is still enjoying
its final life.

  2. This is consistent with @Choko's comment which suggested that you might not be buying because you were expecting a discount to be announced.
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answer