4.2. PARTICLES 177
Unlike for , however, when these interrogatives are followe by
they can lead to some confusion when translated: they may be translated
differently depending on whether they are followed up by an affirmative,
or negative verb form. In Japanese, words like or don’t carry
any affirmative or negative aspect, relying on the verb they’re being used
with to impart this meaning instead. So, while the same word is used in the
following Japanese sentences, the English translation uses two seemingly
different words:
”(I) will do anything.”literally, ”(I) won’t do anything”
”(I) will do nothing.”Likewise:”(It) exists anywhere.”literally, ”(It) doesn’t exist anywhere.”
”(it) exists nowhere.”This is a good example of how translations may create wrong im-
pressions: even though in English it is the answers to the interrogative that
come in different versions, with the verb staying the same, in Japanese it is
the exact opposite, with the answers to the interrogative staying the same,
and the verb coming in different versions depending on which polarity
(affirmative or negative) is needed.
On an equally important note, when used with interrogatives this
way, many additional particles come between the interrogative and :
interrogative particle combination