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Some old Japanese grammar I never saw before — 3 Comments

  1. I’ve been taught the “mai” verb ending, to mean “probably won’t/not,” and I’ve encountered it once or twice while translating. I don’t think it’s archaic. It’s the negative of でしょう. However, it follows the dictionary form of the verb, and 来る is often an irregular verb anyway.

    The mai form is explained on p. 207 of 日本語文法ハンドブック (intermediate and advanced edition)

  2. Interesting. Thanks, Geoff. So you think it’s not archaic, but just not common?

    doug

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