87592
Not sure if this is a dumb question but how is the nai form of a verb related
to the verb masu stem + nai/nakatta (from aru)? For example : taberu becomes
tabe (masu stem) + nai and same for many others. However in the case of
ayamaru we have ayamaranai so ayamara + nai (here the stem would be ayamari
actually).

I suppose there s some historical reason or some inherit one of how japanese
verbs work explaining this.
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2021-07-20T22:38:28.590
87578
2021-07-22T09:41:49.370
45243
question
negation
Nai form of verbs
> how is the nai form of a verb related to the verb masu stem

It isn't. The "nai form" of a verb is entirely dependent on the "Mizenkei
base", whilst the "masu form" of a verb is entirely dependent on the
"Ren'yōkei base". Incidentally, the mizenkei base and the ren'yōkei base have
the same pattern for ichidan verbs, but they are unrelated.

> how is the nai form of a verb related to … nai/nakatta (from aru)?

If you are new to these "verb bases", you can read up about them on
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugation#Verb_bases).
To summarise, the forms/suffixes of verbs are only compatible with specific
verb bases. The
**[negative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugation#Negative:_Conjugation_table)**
,
**[passive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugation#Passive:_Conjugation_table)**
and
**[causative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugation#Causative:_Conjugation_table)**
forms/suffixes are only compatible with the mizenkei base.

Actually, the verb "aru" is an exception that doesn't actually have a mizenkei
base, which might explain why the negative form is simply "nai". As for the
examples you used, the negative form can be summarized as follows:

Verb | Mizenkei base | + Negative Suffix  
---|---|---  
aru | N/A (exception) | **nai**  
taberu | tabe | tabe **nai**  
ayamaru | ayamara | ayamara **nai**  
  
It's worth noting that since "aru" has no mizenkei base, it cannot be
conjugated into the passive or causative forms.
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2021-07-22T09:41:49.370
87592
2021-07-22T09:41:49.370
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87578
answer