Using まい？

[Flamehearted]

Hi all,

When using mai in the sense of won't do what is the difference between using the masu stem, and the plain form ?

E.g

飲むまい　＝　I won't drink

飲みまい　＝　I won't drink ?

Is there a difference between the two ?

Tx !

Martin

[hatch_jp]

When you use まい, the verb should be dictionary form.

行く ＝＞　行くまい ( I won't go. / I will never go.)
見る ＝＞　見るまい (I won't see. / I will never see.)

飲みまい, 行きまいand 見まい don't make sense.

[Flamehearted]

Hello again Hatch ! You're fantastic - many thanks for the answer, it really helps.

Acutally can I ask you another favour ? Could you exlpain what these idioms mean in Japanese ? I can't find them in any dictionaries.

目をかける

耳にはさむ

舌がたたない

舌をまく

首をひねる

Thanks again

[hatch_jp]

目をかける
　favor // take a kindly interest // give someone special treatment // Look after

耳にはさむ
　hear/know something accidentally
　彼が結婚したと耳にはさんだ = I accidentally heard that he got married.

舌がたたない ＝＞ 歯がたたない？
　above one's head // over one's head // be no much for // have no chance against
　彼には歯が立たなかった = I had no chance against him.

舌をまく
　be amazed at // be amazed by // be astonished at
　彼のアイデアに舌をまいた = I was astonished at his idea.

首をひねる
　wonder at/what/how/if ･･･
　彼の奇妙な行動に首をひねった = I wondered at his strange behavior.


Some of those are on http://www.alc.co.jp/

[jkid]

What is the difference between まい and ません?

[Javizy]

What is the difference between まい and ません?

まい is the negative volitional form, so it's the plain opposite of ましょう. So your question is what's the difference between the plain and volitional forms?

私が持つ。
私が持ちましょう。

The plain form simply is what it is, whereas the volitional implies a conscious choice or decision made by the speaker, i.e. his volition. I've heard this a few times in Jpod dialogues when the speaker makes up his mind about something, but as far as I remember, it has only ever been explained (repeatedly) in terms of invitational situations.

As for まい, it's almost always used in written Japanese, although it does pop-up in a few expressions. ません can carry a negative volitional meaning, so that's usually used instead. You can't use まい to invite somebody not to do something, either. For that, you add ~のはやめましょう after the plain form of the verb.

[Flamehearted]

Tx Hatch - really appreciate that.

[jkid]

Thanks for the clarification Javizy.