"It is not dark here."
Translation:여기는 어둡지 않아요.
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When do you use 않아요 and when 아님니다? I know at this level it's not in the options but I want to know when to use jt jn real life
아니다 ("to not be") is the antonym to 이다 ("to be").
~지 않다 is used to negate other verbs and adjectives.
See https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/25808994?comment_id=39536512 for a more detailed discussion.
Typo Correction: ~지 않다
Short answer: Yes. The first is often referred to as short form negation, and the latter as long form negation. They are equivalent, though short form is more colloquial and casual while long form is more commonly found in written and formal Korean.
Detailed answer below:
There are three ways to negate a verb or adjective in Korean: (1) using an antonym, (2) forming a short form negation, and (3) forming a long form negation.
Using an Antonyn
This is probably the most fundamental/universal way to negate a verb: use its opposite word. For example to say "I don't know", Koreans would prefer to say 몰라요 over negating 알다.
Using a Short Form Negation
I consider this the easiest way to negate a verb or adjective. Its most commonly used in colloquial Korean. You can negate a verb or adjective by placing 안 like an adverb before.
- 안 가요 = "does not go"
- 안 커요 = "is not big"
In addition, verbs can also be negated a second way with the adverb 못. The difference is that 못 conveys that the subject is unable to perform the action, while 안 is more of a statement. Again, only verbs have this short form negation.
- 안 가요 = "does not go"
- 못 가요 = "cannot go"
Using a Long Form Negation
Long form negation is probably the most grammatically clear way to negate a verb or adjective. It is commonly used in written Korean and in formal speech. To form a long form negation, you need to append an auxiliary verb to the stem of the verb or adjective you are negating. Then you conjugate the new verb accordingly. Which auxiliary verb that gets appended depends on the mood of your sentence: declarative and interrogative sentences use ~지 않다 or ~지 못하다 while imperative and propositive sentences use ~지 말다.
- 가지 않아요 = "does not go"
- 가지 못해요 = "cannot go"
- 가지 말아요 = "let's not go" or "must not go"
- 크지 않아요 = "is not big"
Again, only verbs can form the ~지 못하다 long form negation.
References:
The noun 여기 ("here, this place") is the topic of the sentence. Hence it is valid to tag the noun with the topic marker 는.
It is also valid to use the subject marker 가 as well since 여기 is also the subject of the sentence. The negated adjective 어둡다 is acting on 여기.
The two sentences have similar meanings, though 여기는 어둡지 않아요 also carries the nuance that you are specifying 여기 in contrast to other places.