「昼御飯を食べたか?」に対する2つの否定形の使い分け

Abstract

In this article I would like to present a difference in the usage of 'tabenakatta' and of 'tabeteinai'. 'Tabenakatta' is used to answer (negatively) the question of whether a given event occured or not. While 'tabeteinai' is used to answer (negatively) the question of whether a resulting state of affairs continues or not at the moment of the utterence. The adverbs 'moo' and 'mada' are used to distinguish between the two kinds of questions respectively. But in cases where the nature of the initial question is ambiguous, consideration of whether the period of time during which the action might be accomplished is or is not over, along with consideration of the speaker's intention, become important factors in deciding which verb form should be selected.