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お金が足りなくて、本が買えませんでした。

Shouldn't it be:

お金が足りないで、本が買えませんでした。

RyouBakura
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    Both ないで and なくて can express causality, but in this case, なくて is more used than the other. –  Dec 01 '18 at 19:45
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    ^in this case, なくて is more used than the other -- んん。。？ You mean お金が足りないで 、本が買えませんでした is acceptable? I don't think it's grammatically correct... – chocolate Dec 02 '18 at 03:01

1 Answers1

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ないで doesn't stand for reason/cause (but a condition without the object). Now, in this example, shortage of money is the reason why you couldn't buy the book. So, you can't use it.

user4092
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