な adjectives vs い adjectives when it comes to conjugation


When conjugating い adjectives it is all fine and dandy, you get rid of the い
and replace depending on past, present, affirmative and negative (unless
present and affirmative).

***1** But then I am slightly confused with な adjectives, because it seems
like to me that you don't ever see the な ending in **some words** when it is
written in a sentence.

Is this true? If so, does that mean when conjugating な adjectives you imagine
that the な is there and just replace it (which is the same as adding the past,
present affirmative or negative suffix).

I hope I explained my confusion well enough. It is weird that I am asking this
because I learned how to conjugate adjectives a few weeks ago but I only just
had this thought now.

***1** _For example I have never seen 元気な in a sentence before._




## Problem

I think the confusion comes from the fact that both kind of words are labelled
as い-adjectives and な-adjectives, creating the illusion or expectation that
both types of words function grammatically in the same way, and that where you
would use い for one type, you can expect to use な for the other. **This
expectation is not true**. Let's compare both cases.

## な-adjectives

Not in some, but in _**all**_ な-adjectives, you will _**never**_ see the な if
the word is _**at the end of the sentence**_. This is because the な is
actually a particle that joins the so-called な-adjective with the noun it is
modifying, but it is not a part of the な-adjective:

Modifying a noun:

> きれい **な** 女の人。
>
> 元気 **な** 人。

Not modifying a noun:

> その女の人はきれい。(there is no な)
>
> その人は元気。(there is no な)

## い-adjectives

On the contrary, い-adjectives end with an い even when they do not modify a
noun (i.e. when they are at the end of a sentence):

Modifying a noun:

> うつくし **い** 女の人。

Not modifying a noun:

> その女の人はうつくし **い** 。

* * *

Some textbooks present な-adjectives in their vocabulary lists with the な
attached to the end, which is a practice I dislike very much because it is
misleading and conveys that the whole word includes the な, even though it's
not the case. I suggest you to drop the namings い-adjective and な-adjective
and to start calling these types of words with the Japanese terms 形容詞{けいようし}
and 形容動詞{けいようどうし}. They have different grammatical functions, and
形容動詞{けいようどうし} are actually way closer to nouns than to adjectives.




## Problem

I think the confusion comes from the fact that both kind of words are labelled
as い-adjectives and な-adjectives, creating the illusion or expectation that
both types of words function grammatically in the same way, and that where you
would use い for one type, you can expect to use な for the other. **This
expectation is not true**. Let's compare both cases.

## な-adjectives

Not in some, but in _**all**_ な-adjectives, you will _**never**_ see the な if
the word is _**at the end of the sentence**_. This is because the な is
actually a particle that joins the so-called な-adjective with the noun it is
modifying, but it is not a part of the な-adjective:

Modifying a noun:

> きれい **な** 女の人。
>
> 元気 **な** 人。

Not modifying a noun:

> その女の人はきれい。(there is no な)
>
> その人は元気。(there is no な)

## い-adjectives

On the contrary, い-adjectives end with an い even when they do not modify a
noun (i.e. when they are at the end of a sentence):

Modifying a noun:

> うつくし **い** 女の人。

Not modifying a noun:

> その女の人はうつくし **い** 。

* * *

Some textbooks present な-adjectives in their vocabulary lists with the な
attached to the end, which is a practice I dislike very much because it is
misleading and conveys that the whole word includes the な, even though it's
not the case. I suggest you to drop the namings い-adjective and な-adjective
and to start calling these types of words with the Japanese terms 形容詞{けいようし}
and 形容動詞{けいようどうし}. They have different grammatical functions, and
形容動詞{けいようどうし} are actually way closer to nouns than to adjectives.

