ではありません

You will see that, in Japanese, all verbs in the ます-form end in ません (masen) in the negative. The copula verb です in the negative is ではありません (dewa arimasen). You might also see じゃありません (ja arimasen). ではありません is a bit more polite than じゃありません.

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すみません、がくせいですか？

Sumimasen, gakusei desu ka?

Excuse-me, are you a student?

いいえ、がくせいではありません。せんせいです。

Iie, gakusei dewa arimasen. Sensei desu.

No, I am not a student. I am a teacher.

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ではありません versus じゃありません

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You might have also heard じゃありません before. The only difference is that ではありません is a bit more polite than じゃありません, but they essentially mean the same thing.

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エンジニアーではありません。

Enjiniaa dewa arimasen.

I am not an engineer.

いしゃじゃありません。

Isha ja arimasen.

I am not a doctor.

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ではありません and じゃありません both have the component ありません, which is the verb ある in the negative. You will see some verbs in some grammatical structures that have nothing to do with the verbs themselves, such as the verb ある and です. They are essentially versatile verbs that can appear in more than one grammatical structure.

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The ません-form

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The ません-form works exactly like the ます-form. You remember how to conjugate ichidan and godan verbs? What will be different in negative sentences will be the particle we use. We saw that with the ます-form with action verbs, we had to use the particle を, which is an object particle. In the negative, however, we will change this particle for the particle は. Why is that? That's because in the negative, we tend to emphasize things. 

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The particle は is used to either pinpoint the subject or the theme of the whole sentence to put emphasis on it. That is why verbs in the negative will take the particle は over the particle を. However, using the particle を for negative verbs is not wrong in some instances.

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おちゃをのみます。

Ocha o nomimasu.

I drink tea.

おちゃはのみません。

Ocha wa nomimasen.

I do not drink tea.

おかしをたべます。

Okashi o tabemasu.

I eat snacks.

おかしはたべません。

Okashi wa tabemasen.

I do not eat snacks.

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Here's why I am saying that using the particle を in negative sentences is not wrong; you can put the emphasis on something else, depending on what you want to convey. This sentence おちゃをのみません is not inherently wrong, but it misses something. Most of the time, you will see it with something else.

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まいにちはおちゃをのみません。

Mainichi wa ocha o nomimasen.

I do not drink tea everyday.

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Here, we are putting the emphasis on まいにち instead of おちゃ. This means that it isn't everyday that I drink tea. However, if we say this;

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まいにちおちゃはのみません。

Mainichi ocha wa nomimasen.

I do not drink tea everyday.

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We mean here that it is not tea that we drink everyday. We could drink something else everyday, but not tea. There is a slight nuance between the two sentences. 

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The verbs いる and ある

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This change of particle also affects the verbs いる and ある. We saw that we have to use the particle が when using the existential verbs. However, in the negative, we will change this particle for the particle は.

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こうえんにいぬはいません。

Kouen ni inu wa imasen.

There is no dog in the park.

うみにさかなはいません。

Umi ni sakana wa imasen.

There is no fish in the sea.

おかねはありません。

Okane wa arimasen.

I do not have money.

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A word about the particle は in the negative

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In the affirmative, we saw that the particle to use with arimasu and imasu was が (unless if the subject is the topic of the sentence, or if we know what we are talking about, in which case we use は). In the negative, most of the time, we will find the particle は. 

 

Remember that one use of the particle が is to introduce a new topic into a conversation. Therefore, it is rare to introduce a new subject, and the first thing to say about this subject is what it is not like.

 

Keep in mind that the choice of particle, whether が or は, will depend on what you want to convey. Seeing a negative sentence with the particle が is not unusual, but that depends on what you want to convey. 

 

If it is a new subject we are introducing, we can still keep が.

 

おかねがありません。。。

Okane ga arimasen…

I do not have money…

 

This sentence could mean that you uttered it out of the blue. But if someone asks you if you have money and you don’t, you will say:

 

おかねはありません。。。

Okane wa arimasen…

I do not have money…

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Typically, to answer yes/no questions in the negative, the particle will be は. There is generally a rule to follow.

 

Rule 1: none/を/が/も, change into は

If there is no particle, or the particle is either を, が, or も, you change it into は.

 

Rule 2: other particles, you put the particle + は

に 〜 には、と 〜 とは、 で 〜 では、 へ 〜 へは

 

まいにちかいしゃへいきますか？

Mainichi kaisha e ikimasu ka?

Do you go to the office everyday?

 

いいえ、かいしゃへはまいにちいきません。

Iie, kaisha e wa mainichi ikimasen.

No, I don’t go to the office everyday.

 

We will see the other particles in time, but remember that a lot of particles will change into は in the negative.

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The ません-form for future and habitual action

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The ません-form works exactly like the ます-form, as it is used in the future and as a habitual action.

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らいねんにほんへはいきません。

Rainen nihon e ikimasen. 

I will not go to Japan next year.

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ドイツごはべんきょうしません。

Doitsugo wa benkyou shimasen.

I will not learn German.

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まいあさしんぶんはよみません。

Maiasa shinbun wa yomimasen.

I do not read the newspaper every morning.

しゅうまつはテレビをみません。

Shuumatsu wa terebi o mimasen.

I do not watch TV on the weekend.​

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It can however be used as a raw present tense, such as;

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りんごをたべますか？

Ringo o tabemasu ka?

Do you eat apples?

いいえ、りんごはたべません。

Iie, ringo wa tabemasen.

No, I do not eat apples.

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Like in English, these sentences do not mean that you are eating apples right now. It is just stating that you normally do not eat apples in your everyday life.

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は to show contrast

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The particle は, on top of showing the emphasis and the general theme in a sentence, will be used to show contrast between two things. For instance, let's say I do not watch TV in general, but I do watch movies.

 

テレビはみませんが、えいがはみます。

Terebi wa mimasen ga, eiga wa mimasu.

I do not watch TV, but I watch movies.

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The particle は is thus repeated in this case. The first は puts an emphasis on the fact we don't watch TV, and the second は puts an emphasis on movies (it is movies we watch, but not TV in general). This is the only case you will see the particle は being repeated in the same sentence.

 

Here are some more verbs for you to learn! Again, verbs marked as * are ichidan verbs.

すわる - to sit down
たつ - to stand up
はらう - to pay
しはらう - to pay
あらう - to wash
*シャワーをあびる - to shower
*きる - to wear
ぬぐ - to take off (clothes)
*ねる - to sleep
*おきる - to wake up
うたう - to sing
わらう - to laugh
あそぶ - to play
わかる - to understand
*わすれる - to forget
*おぼえてる - to remember
おもいだす - to remember

きにする - to care
*かんがえる - to think (about)
がんばる - to do our best
さくせいする - to create
おどる - to dance