To not have: 持っていません or ありません？


Whenever I go to the Life supermarket near my house, they ask me at the check
out:

> ライフカードを持っていますか？ (Do you have a Life [members] card?)

I always respond with something like:

> いいえ、持っていません。

持っていません (motteimasenn) means I don't have it, but I think more precisely it
means I am not carrying it on me. As in, I have a member's card, but not with
me right now.

It seems like the right way to answer, with the negative form of the verb they
used in the question. And the person at the check out always seems to
understand what I mean.

However, I'm thinking it would be more accurate to answer:

> いいえ、ありません。

Which means "no, [I] don't have [a members card]." I think saying ありません means
that it's not just that I don't have one with me, I don't have one at all -
which is the case.

So, which is the more accurate way to respond? 持っていません or ありません?




Short answer: `持っていません` is the more appropriate. Because under this context,
it says what needs to be said in the least surprising way.

To my understanding, the cashier only wants to know if you have the card right
now and here:

> ライフカードを持っていますか？ Do you have a Life [members] card with you? (So you can earn
> points now?)

In this case, just saying 持っていません or ありません automatically becomes a shorthand
for "No, I don't have it with me":

> いいえ、[今は]持っていません。 No, I don't have it right now.
>
> いいえ、[今はここには]ありません。 No, it's not here right now.

Since the cashier used the verb 持つ in her question, returning the same verb is
the most natural answer here.

If you want to emphasize that you don't even possess a Life card, you need a
special marker to widen the context from "here and now." Even then, it would
sound awkward or angry to bring it up since it wasn't asked for.

> もともと持っていません[し、毎回聞かれてうんざりです]1。 I don't have it in the first place[, so don't
> bug me about that every time].
>
> [1] It's not logically implied, but some may interpret it this way.

As for ありません, I can't think of a natural way to express "No, I don't possess a
members card" with it.

ある/ありません needs to be used in conjunction with certain categories of things
and/or within certain contexts to mean possession. To list a few correct
examples,

> 私には夢がある。 I have a dream. (From the famous speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.)
>
> もしも私にハンマーがあれば、 If I had a hammer, ("If I had a hammer" by Peter, Paul and
> Mary)
>
>
> [私には夫はありません。](http://www.bible.or.jp/vers_search/vers_search.cgi?cmd=search&trans=jc&book=joh.new&chapter=4&vers=17)
> I have no husband. (John 4:17)
>
> 私にはカードはありませんが、埋め込みチップならあります。 I don't have a card, but I do have an embedded
> microchip. (made-up example)

I won't go into details here partly because it'll be out of scope for this
question and partly because I don't have a clear answer. If it interests you,
[here's a lengthy study by
someone](http://viethuong.web.fc2.com/MONDAI/speaking04.html) about the usage
of ある.




Short answer: `持っていません` is the more appropriate. Because under this context,
it says what needs to be said in the least surprising way.

To my understanding, the cashier only wants to know if you have the card right
now and here:

> ライフカードを持っていますか？ Do you have a Life [members] card with you? (So you can earn
> points now?)

In this case, just saying 持っていません or ありません automatically becomes a shorthand
for "No, I don't have it with me":

> いいえ、[今は]持っていません。 No, I don't have it right now.
>
> いいえ、[今はここには]ありません。 No, it's not here right now.

Since the cashier used the verb 持つ in her question, returning the same verb is
the most natural answer here.

If you want to emphasize that you don't even possess a Life card, you need a
special marker to widen the context from "here and now." Even then, it would
sound awkward or angry to bring it up since it wasn't asked for.

> もともと持っていません[し、毎回聞かれてうんざりです]1。 I don't have it in the first place[, so don't
> bug me about that every time].
>
> [1] It's not logically implied, but some may interpret it this way.

As for ありません, I can't think of a natural way to express "No, I don't possess a
members card" with it.

ある/ありません needs to be used in conjunction with certain categories of things
and/or within certain contexts to mean possession. To list a few correct
examples,

> 私には夢がある。 I have a dream. (From the famous speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.)
>
> もしも私にハンマーがあれば、 If I had a hammer, ("If I had a hammer" by Peter, Paul and
> Mary)
>
>
> [私には夫はありません。](http://www.bible.or.jp/vers_search/vers_search.cgi?cmd=search&trans=jc&book=joh.new&chapter=4&vers=17)
> I have no husband. (John 4:17)
>
> 私にはカードはありませんが、埋め込みチップならあります。 I don't have a card, but I do have an embedded
> microchip. (made-up example)

I won't go into details here partly because it'll be out of scope for this
question and partly because I don't have a clear answer. If it interests you,
[here's a lengthy study by
someone](http://viethuong.web.fc2.com/MONDAI/speaking04.html) about the usage
of ある.

