Using ます-form inside a (compound, conditional) statement


Japanese grammar books say that ます-form should be used only at the very end of
a (compound) statement. So 〜ないといけません。is a correct sentence ending. However
googling "ませんといけない" finds lots of matches (348,000 vs. 482,000 for correct
variant) which seem to be genuine sentences of native speakers, like

> しかしながら明日からの仕事に向けて気持ちを **切り替えませんといけない** ですね。

Is it a wide-spread colloquialism, or is ます-form actually allowed at each sub-
statement end in a compound?




ませんといけない is understandable, but is an entirely broken expression. You have to
say 気持ちを切り替えないといけません. This kind of broken Japanese may easily happen when, for
example, someone who is very nervous has to make a formal speech, but there is
no reason one uses this by intention in any kind of situation.




ませんといけない is understandable, but is an entirely broken expression. You have to
say 気持ちを切り替えないといけません. This kind of broken Japanese may easily happen when, for
example, someone who is very nervous has to make a formal speech, but there is
no reason one uses this by intention in any kind of situation.

