Why isn't ある's negative form あらない?


ある is listed in dictionaries as having ラ行五段活用, which would suggest a negative
form of あらない. However, that form does not exist. Why not?




In modern Japanese, instead of the conjugation [未然形]{みぜんけい}+[無]{な}い, another
word is used to express the plain negative, namely 無い.

This a process called suppletion, supplying a certain conjugational form with
a different word. It exists in English as well. You don't say _good and
gooder_ , you talk about _better_ , which comes from Proto-Indo-European
*bhAd- _good_. Further examples include _bad_ - _worse_ , and _be_ - _is_ -
_was_.

However, this kind of conjugation exists in Classical Japanese. Here the
negative is expressed via 未然形+ず, and ある is no exception: あらず. ず , or perhaps
better known in its form ぬ, is the helper verb of negation.

>
> 「[舟]{ふね}は[水]{みず}に[非]{あら}ざれば[行]{ゆ}かず。[水]{みず}、[舟]{ふね}に[入]{い}れば[則]{すなわ}ち[没]{ぼっ}す」

Even in modern Japanese, you can still say あらへん (Kansai dialect).

Lastly, although rare, there are attested instances of the form あらない (see
日本国語大辞典, entry あらない)

> せく事はあらない
>
> 土佐【とさ】とて鬼の国でも蛇【へび】の国でもあらないものを

There is also あらなくに, but the な here is analyzed as the く-nominalization of ず.




In modern Japanese, instead of the conjugation [未然形]{みぜんけい}+[無]{な}い, another
word is used to express the plain negative, namely 無い.

This a process called suppletion, supplying a certain conjugational form with
a different word. It exists in English as well. You don't say _good and
gooder_ , you talk about _better_ , which comes from Proto-Indo-European
*bhAd- _good_. Further examples include _bad_ - _worse_ , and _be_ - _is_ -
_was_.

However, this kind of conjugation exists in Classical Japanese. Here the
negative is expressed via 未然形+ず, and ある is no exception: あらず. ず , or perhaps
better known in its form ぬ, is the helper verb of negation.

>
> 「[舟]{ふね}は[水]{みず}に[非]{あら}ざれば[行]{ゆ}かず。[水]{みず}、[舟]{ふね}に[入]{い}れば[則]{すなわ}ち[没]{ぼっ}す」

Even in modern Japanese, you can still say あらへん (Kansai dialect).

Lastly, although rare, there are attested instances of the form あらない (see
日本国語大辞典, entry あらない)

> せく事はあらない
>
> 土佐【とさ】とて鬼の国でも蛇【へび】の国でもあらないものを

There is also あらなくに, but the な here is analyzed as the く-nominalization of ず.

