なくなる

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. 話はなさなくなる [X no longer speaks]
  • E.g. 食たべなくなる [X no longer eats]

• い-Adjective Stem + くなくなる
  • E.g. 高たかくなくなる [X is no longer expensive]

• (な-Adjective Stem / Noun) + [では / じゃ] + なくなる
  • E.g. 静しずかじゃなくなる [X is no longer quiet]
  • E.g. 先生せんせいじゃなくなる [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 急きゅうに [Rapidly], 突然とつぜん [Suddenly], and 一年いちねんのうちに [Within a year] before なくなる.
  • E.g. やさしい漢字かんじも書かけなくなった。[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. 私わたしは漢字かんじを急きゅうに書かけなくなった。[I quickly became unable to write Kanji.] The adverb 急きゅうに implies that the process of becoming unable to write kanji was rapid.
  • E.g. 私わたしは漢字かんじを突然とつぜん書かけなくなった。[I suddenly became unable to write Kanji.] The adverb 突然とつぜん 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 急きゅうに [Rapidly] and 突然とつぜん [Suddenly] are inappropriate.
  • E.g. 日本語にほんごが話はな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 一年いちねんのうちに [Within a year], 急きゅうに [Rapidly], et cetera.
  • E.g. 日本語にほんごがもう話はなせない。[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. 日本語にほんごが話はなせなくなった。[I cannot speak Japanese any more (due to circumstances that were fairly direct and within my control).]
  • E.g. 日本語にほんごが話はな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. 日本語にほんごがもう話はなせない。[I can’t speak Japanese anymore (and no further information can be inferred).]

Example Sentences:

前まえは酒さけをよく飲のんでいたが、このごろは飲のまなくなりました。[Before, I drank alcohol often. These days, I don’t drink alcohol any more.]

彼かれは前まえよく電話でんわをかけて来きましたが、もうかけて来こなくなりました。[Before, he used to call me often. But he doesn’t call me anymore.]

日本語にほんごはもう難むずかしくなくなりました。[Japanese is no longer difficult for me.]

この郊外こうがいも地下鉄ちかてつが来きて不便ふべんではなくなった。[This suburb got a subway as well, so it’s not inconvenient any more.]

やっと大学だいがくを出でて学生がくせい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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