2

Goo dictionary lists the 連体形 (attributive) form of copula as です but does not provide an example of an attributive usage. Can です be really used attributively? I have problems finding any example of it.

user1602
  • 2,923
  • 1
  • 19
  • 32
  • 1
    「です」の連体形っていうと・・「～です+ので」とか？ 「～です+noun」って、なさそうですねぇ‥ – chocolate Mar 14 '19 at 09:17
  • 1
    Odd really that it can’t be used like that, since 〜ます+noun is fine in formal contexts. 🤔 I don’t think I’ve ever seen 〜であります+noun or 〜でございます+noun, but it feels like they should be possible to use in theory... – Darius Jahandarie Mar 14 '19 at 15:56
  • 「中村の弟でございます中村太郎と申します。」って大丈夫ですよね…？「です」にすると文が途中で終わる感じになっちゃいますよね…なんででしょう笑 – Darius Jahandarie Mar 14 '19 at 16:09
  • @DariusJahandarie, I think it's because of the way that です is a sort of artificial construct that appeared relatively recently. Although it grew out of でございます and/or であります, it functions differently, more specifically as a kind of 終止形 defective copula that imparts specific register information. ("Defective" in part in that it is analyzable as only functioning as register and not as a copula in [形容詞]いです constructions; hence the invalidity of *[形容詞]いだ.) – Eiríkr Útlendi Mar 14 '19 at 18:03

1 Answers1

6

According to this page, the attributive です connects to only ので and のに.

上の活用表で連体形の「です」が丸かっこで囲んであります。

これは、連体形の「です」が用いられるのは、助詞の「ので」「のに」が付く場合だけにかぎられるということを意味しています。つまり、連体形であっても、体言（名詞）は付きません。「雨です日」という言い方はしませんね。

It's also possible to say ですこと and ですもの at the end of a sentence, but this こと/もの is usually categorized as a sentence-end particle rather than a noun.

Community
  • 1
naruto
  • 313,860
  • 13
  • 324
  • 625
  • 2
    I must disagree with that page on one count -- the 連体形 by definition is the form that attaches to a 体言. Since です never attaches to a 体言, by definition, it cannot be the 連体形. である could be, but not です. Considering also the historical development of です, it is kind of an artificial construct that functions a little differently than earlier であります, so this lack of a real 連体形 functionality is not all that surprising. Trying to force です into the full verb-paradigm model is a mistake, in my opinion. – Eiríkr Útlendi Mar 14 '19 at 17:01
  • 2
    (To clarify: I have no argument with naruto's post, just with the linked https://www.kokugobunpou.com/助動詞/です/ page. :) ) – Eiríkr Útlendi Mar 14 '19 at 17:01