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I'm reading a book, and the antagonist was released from prison early because
he bribed the district prosecutioner.

The main character says: 野郎。。。 法なんてあってねーようなもんじゃねーか

This is my translation: Bastard... It's like there is no law (lacking in
lawfulness?)

But I'm not sure how もんじゃない functions here. I know もんだ/です can function as
giving a reason for something. Is もんじゃない used similarly but ない is used because
it is a negative verb?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-25T05:44:21.070
58152
2018-04-25T07:08:28.640
29690
question
grammar translation
もんじゃない translation attempt
Your translation attempt is spot-on.

This もん is a simple noun, "thing".
[あってないようなもの](https://thesaurus.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%82%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AA%E3%82%82%E3%81%AE)
is a set phrase that means "a thing that exists but is like nonexistent," or
"a thing that's virtually nonexistent". It's commonly used to describe how
something is useless or meaningless.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-25T07:08:28.640
58156
2018-04-25T07:08:28.640
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answer