Don’t Do That!
&ldqu;Greatness is attained only by the thinking of great thoughts.” – William D. Wattles
If plain old te-form can be used to tell someone what to do, then I bet you can imagine what it does when it’s negative te-form… that’s right, it tells them what not to do.
aそれ を たべて
Eat that
aそれ を たべないで
Don’t eat that
aビール を のんで
Drink the beer
aビール を のまないで
Don’t drink (the) beer
aせんせい を きいて
Ask the teacher
aせんせい を きかないで
Don’t ask the teacher
It’s quite straightforward and is just the exact opposite of what you’ve already learned. Why don’t you try a few on your own. How would you say:
Don’t kill my father!
a父をころさないで！
Don’t eat McDonalds
aマクドナルド を たべないで
Don’t look over there
aあそこ を 見ないで
Don’t read that
aそれ を よまないで
Quite simple and easy, as long as you know the stuff from before. This ないで form isn’t only used like this, however. Let’s look at this (and regular te-form) used with some grammar you already know.