43580
Here are the two sentences:

> あなたの友達に私の本で書かないでと言ってください
>
> あなたの友達に私の本で書かないように言ってください

My guess is that the first is

> Please say to your friend "Do not write in my book"

and the second is

> Please tell your friend to not write in my book.

The second is more asking the person to explain it in their own words. The
first is asking them to just say that quote.

Is this guess correct?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-16T05:18:09.340
43576
2017-02-16T06:06:13.077
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
11827
question
grammar
What's the difference between these two sentences?
Your guess is mostly correct.

> あなたの友達に私の本で書かないでと言ってください

This sentence sounds like you are reporting direct speech, because 書かないで is a
rather casual way to say _don’t write_. To convey what your friend should be
told without actually quoting anyone, you may use the negative imperative Vる+な
form (which is not rude in this construction) or いけない.

> あなたの友達に私の本で書くなと言ってください
>
> Please tell your friend not to write in my book.
>
> あなたの友達に私の本で書いてはいけないと言ってください
>
> Please tell your friend he is not allowed to write in my book.

Your second sentence is also acceptable. An extreme literal translation of
this sentence could be ‘tell your friend what you should tell him so that he
does not write in my book’.

By the way, あなたの友達に doesn’t seem very natural to me (but it is gramatically
correct for sure).
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-16T05:59:50.397
43580
2017-02-16T06:06:13.077
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
43576
answer