Adjectival Noun Article Index for
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Adjectival Noun
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OLD JAPANESE


Old Japanese has one type of adjectival noun with the following inflections.


LATE OLD JAPANESE


Late Old Japanese has two types of adjectival nouns: ''nar-'' and ''tar-''.

The newly developed ''tar-'' inflections are used in Kanbun Kundoku (reading a Chinese text in Japanese).


EARLY MIDDLE JAPANESE


Early Middle Japanese has two types of adjectival nouns: ''na-'' and ''tar-''.


LATE MIDDLE JAPANESE


Late Middle Japanese has two types of adjectival nouns: ''na'' and ''t-''.


EARLY MODERN JAPANESE (KAMIGATA)


The early half of Early Middle Japanese as exhibited in the Kamigata region has a single type of adjectival noun with the following inflections.

The derteriorating tar- type is lost.


EARLY MODERN JAPANESE (EDO)


The later half of Early Modern Japanese as found in Edo has a single type of adjectival noun with the following inflections.


MODERN JAPANESE


There is one type of adjectival noun in modern usage, with inflections as follows.

  • The modern inflections are based on two primitive forms: d- and n-. The n- forms are historical older while the d- forms are newer and have replaced some of the older n- forms.

  • Irrealis -daro is found with particle -u, resulting in -darou (-darō). Historically it was -dara. /au/ reguarlly changed into {Link without Title} .

  • Adverbial -daQ is often found with past particle -ta, resulting in "daQta" -> "datta".

  • Adverbial -de is found before "aru" and "nai", as well as being used in 中止法.

  • Adverbial -ni is used in 連用修飾方.

  • Modern Japanese no longer inflects for imperative.



ETYMOLOGY


All forms of the copula (the vehicle for the inflection of adjectival nouns) can be considered to derive from two infinitive forms, ''ni'' and ''to''. Because the copula lacked any other forms, secondary conjugations with the verb ''ari'' were used. The original ''ni ari'' and ''to ari'' contracted to form ''nari'' and ''tari''. To derive the modern forms ''na'' and ''da'', changes such as the following have been proposed.

For attributive ''na'' (''rentaikei''):
  • ''ni aru'' > ''naru'' > ''na''


For predicative ''da'' (''shūshikei''):
  • ''ni te ari'' > ''de ari'' > ''de a'' > ''da''


In some regions these changes progressed differently, resulting in forms such as ''ja'' or ''ya''.

The infinitive form ''ni'' is still in widespread use (e.g. ''hen ni naru'', "become strange"), but the form ''to'' has become a much rarer alternative.