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I can't figure out if the difference between the two is just a matter of formality or if there are cases I would prefer to use one over the other regarding the context or nuance I want to convey. For example, what is the difference between:

日本語の練習が続かなくなり、だんだん勉強を止めてしまいました

and:

日本語の練習が続かなくなって、だんだん勉強を止めてしまいました

Thank you

naruto
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Asaf Ayalon
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1 Answers1

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In a simple case like this, the only difference is that the masu-stem sounds more formal.

In a more complex sentences, te-forms and masu-stems can coexist. In such cases, I think te-forms tend to be used to describe a sequence of events, whereas masu-stems tend to be used to list things in parallel.

In this example, both sentences are correct, but Sentence 1 feels more natural and sophisticated than Sentence 2:

  1. 佐藤さんは高校を卒業して調理師になり、田中さんは免許を取って教師になりました。
  2. 佐藤さんは高校を卒業し調理師になって、田中さんは免許を取り教師になりました。

(This may be obvious to you, but note that masu-stem and te-form are basically different concepts, and they are usually not interchangeable in most other cases. For example, subsidiary verbs only follow a te-form.)

naruto
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