なくなる Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Phrase
Essential Meaning: Not ~ any more / Don’t do ~ any more
Construction:
- Verb informal negative + なくなる
- E.g. 話さなくなる [X no longer speaks]
- E.g. 食べなくなる [X no longer eats]
- い-Adjective Stem + くなくなる
- E.g. 高くなくなる [X is no longer expensive]
- (な-Adjective Stem / Noun) + [では / じゃ] + なくなる
- E.g. 静かじゃなくなる [X is no longer quiet]
- E.g. 先生じゃなくなる [X is no longer a teacher]
Notes:
- なくなる expresses the idea that some state is no longer the case or that some action no longer takes place (e.g. “Mickey Mouse is no longer popular” or “Bob can’t do a pull-up anymore“). なくなる implies that there is some underlying cause for this change, and that this cause-effect relationship is relatively direct and straightforward. You can specify the time frame over which the change takes place by affixing an adverb or time expression such as 急に [Rapidly], 突然 [Suddenly], and 一年のうちに [Within a year] before なくなる.
- E.g. やさしい漢字も書けなくなった。[I can’t even write easy kanji anymore.] In this example, なくなる implies that the process of becoming unable to write the Kanji is based on a straightforward cause (e.g. the speaker didn’t study).
- E.g. 私は漢字を急に書けなくなった。[I quickly became unable to write Kanji.] The adverb 急に implies that the process of becoming unable to write kanji was rapid.
- E.g. 私は漢字を突然書けなくなった。[I suddenly became unable to write Kanji.] The adverb 突然 implies that becoming unable to write kanji happened suddenly. Perhaps the speaker bumped his head and forgot all of his Japanese.
- To express a more lengthy or indirect process of change (e.g. “It has come to the point where X no longer takes place”), you can use ようになる instead of なくなる. ようになる implies that the change is somewhat indirect and circumstantial (i.e. brought about by external circumstances and not by the subject’s direct agency). Note that because ようになる indicates a gradual change, adverbs indicating immediacy (such as 急に [Rapidly] and 突然 [Suddenly] are inappropriate.
- E.g. 日本語が話せないようになった。[I’ve reached the point where I can no longer speak Japanese (and the process was relatively lengthy and due to circumstances beyond my immediate control).]
- There is a third expression, もう~ない, that has a similar meaning to both なくなる and ようになる. The difference is that もう ~ ない focuses solely on the result (i.e. the fact that some action or process no longer takes place) and it does not imply anything about the underlying context, time frame, or reasoning for the change. Thus, もう ~ ない cannot take contextual adverbs such as 一年のうちに [Within a year], 急に [Rapidly], et cetera.
- E.g. 日本語がもう話せない。[I can’t speak Japanese anymore (and no further information can be inferred).]
- The following examples demonstrate the differences in meaning among なくなる, ようになる, and もう ~ ない.
- E.g. 日本語が話せなくなった。[I cannot speak Japanese any more (due to circumstances that were fairly direct and within my control).]
- E.g. 日本語が話せないようになった。[I’ve reached the point where I can no longer speak Japanese (and the process was relatively lengthy and due to circumstances beyond my immediate control).]
- E.g. 日本語がもう話せない。[I can’t speak Japanese anymore (and no further information can be inferred).]
Example Sentences:
前は酒をよく飲んでいたが、このごろは飲まなくなりました。[Before, I drank alcohol often. These days, I don’t drink alcohol any more.]
彼は前よく電話をかけて来ましたが、もうかけて来なくなりました。[Before, he used to call me often. But he doesn’t call me anymore.]
日本語はもう難しくなくなりました。[Japanese is no longer difficult for me.]
この郊外も地下鉄が来て不便ではなくなった。[This suburb got a subway as well, so it’s not inconvenient any more.]
やっと大学を出て学生ではなくなりました。[I finally graduated from university, so I’m not a student any more.]
WILD Examples:
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