Originally Posted by
Skeez
To me "ja nai de" seems incomplete when you say things like "tabenai de" is a fairly casual statement.
When you say "tabenai de" I am pretty sure that that is just a shortening of "tabenai de kudasai" (please don't eat) by itself it means without eating, so it could be used in things such as "tabenai de KURASU e ikimashita" (without eating, I went to class). Whereas "tabenakute" is the connective negative gerund form. for example "asagohan wo tabenakute KURASU e ikimashita" (I didn't eat breakfast and then went to class.)
now on the topic of ja nai. since -negative stem de is the "without doing something" form, I would find using the verb arimasu (nai) very strange to be used this way. if you want ja before it, you'd have to be preceeding a noun or na-adjective so a sentence would have to be like: "gakusei ja nai de" (please don't exist as a student (literal)). whereas a better way to say that would be "gakusei ni naranai de" (please don't become a student).
as for ja nakute that's useful for simple phrases (it's used for connecting).
Jikan ga nai. KURASU e ikemasen (There is no time. I can't go to class)
Jikan ga nakute, KURASU e ikemasen (there is no time, so I can't go to class)
or
Hitobito ja nakute demashita (there were no people there so I left)
That is just my two cents and moderate knowledge of japanese speaking though, I may be completely wrong.
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