Yes, the 'zu' ending is an old negative form of verbs. To form it, it is enough to add 'zu' to the negative form of a verb without 'nai'. For example: kaka-nai -> kaka-zu, tabe-nai -> tabe-zu. Shinai becomes 'sezu', while konai 'kozu'. In most uses, it can be substituted by '-naide' form without change in meaning: hon wo motte ikazu ni -> hon wo motte ikanaide.
The translation of "I took a magazine to school instead of taking a book." is: Hon no kawari ni zasshi wo gakkou ni motte itta. The 'no' in 'no wo' changes the part of sentence in front of it into a noun, which can subsequently be used as an object for a verb (wo). In other words, the sentence which I gave means something like "I forgot to take a book and went to school." Your sentence, without the "motte iku no wo" part means: "I forgot a book and went to school." This is more or less the same as in the other sentence, perhaps a bit less specific and thus might be misinterpreted. Maciek 08 Apr 2007 11:03:07 -0700, randhir_nag <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > Thanks. > A couple of clarifications on your post: > > Is zuni by itself negative? > I dont notice the verb being mentioned in negative form - appending > zuni makes it negative. > What will be the translation of this then: > For ex. I took a magazine(intentional) to school instead of taking a > book. > > And what does the 'no wo' add-on do?Isnt just a 'hon o wasurete > gakkou ni ikimashita' same as the 'no wo' form? > > --- In [email protected]<Japanese_Language%40yahoogroups.com>, > Misanthropos > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > I went to school without my books. > > > Inspite of studying so hard, I failed. > > > > I wasn't completely sure, how to say it perfectly gramatically > myself, > > so I asked my Japanese girlfriend. She said that you can translate > the > > sentences as follows: > > > > If not taking the books with you was intentional then: > > > > Hon / Shomotsu wo motte ikazu ni gakkou ni itta. > > > > If it wasn't intentional (i.e. you forgot to take them): > > > > Hon / Shomotsu wo motte iku no wo wasurete gakkou ni itta. > > > > The second sentence in both cases is: > > > > Isshoukenmei benkyou shita ga / noni, shiken ni ochita / goukaku > > dekinakatta / shippai shita. > > > > > > Maciek > > > > > > > > > > randhir_nag <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > How do i translate the following: > > > > > > I went to school without my books. > > > Inspite of studying so hard, I failed. > > > > > > thanks. > > > > > > > > > > . > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Japanese_Language/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Japanese_Language/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
