3

でありません （でない）

ではありません （ではない）

でもありません （でもない）

Can anyone tell me the differences between these three?

And in what kinds of context would people use these three?

Community
  • 1
FindingNemo
  • 231
  • 3
  • 7
  • 2
    Related: http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/19662/when-does-it-make-sense-to-use-%E3%81%A7%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84 – Darius Jahandarie Mar 31 '15 at 20:43
  • でありません is no particle form. It is common to insert linking particle 「は」 or 「も」 between 「で」 and 「あり」. maybe someone can explain the role of particules in creating nuances – WKx Apr 01 '15 at 06:22

1 Answers1

3

Suppose you say "it's not" or そうで…ありません

  1. そうではない is the most natural choice for simple "it's not", and if you put stress on は, it implies there's other possibility even if it's specifically not the case.
  2. そうでもない is (1) "not really" or (2) "it's not either".
  3. そうでない is not really natural for a sentence, it rather sounds like a clause.
user4092
  • 16,574
  • 20
  • 23