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Those two sentences mean the same right? Which one is the most common and what different tones do they bring? Is there anytime one should be used instead of the other one?

危ないですから行かないでください。

行かないでください、危ないですから。

One more thing, on the でください conjugation like in 行かないでください what's the で meaning? I know the で particle for indicating where an action happens, so I guess it works in a different way here, right?

Felipe Chaves de Oliveira
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2 Answers2

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According to デジタル大辞泉「ないで」補説, the で could be the particle で or the continuative form of the auxiliary だ, or the whole ないで could be a conjunctive particle, but practically speaking, you can treat Verb+ないで as a te-form of Verb+ない* (Source:アルク 「動詞＋なくて」と「動詞＋ないで」の違いは？), like this:

しないで + ください --　Please don't.
いかないで + ください -- Please don't go.
見ないで + ほしい -- I don't want you to see.
泣かないで + いい (≂泣かなくていい) -- You don't have to cry.

Compare:

して + ください -- Please do.
行って + ください -- Please go.
見て + ほしい -- I want you to see.
食べて + いい -- You may eat.

*The te-form of Verb+ない is Verb+なくて. Verb+なくて and Verb+ないで are interchangeable in some usages, but not always. For example, you say 行かないでください, 行かないでほしい, 行かなくてはならない but not *行かなくてください, *行かなくてほしい, *行かないではならない.

危ないですから行かないでください。
行かないでください、危ないですから。

You'd use the former normal word order in writing and formal speech.
The latter is only seen in rather casual speech. It can be like you're saying it hurriedly, or you decided to add the latter half while saying the first half.

Chocolate
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  • Hey, thank you! This is a lot to process at first so i'll read some more times to complete understand( and maybe then i'll have more questions), but at first why do i need the te form to use ください is it because i'm implying the imperative form of the verb? – Felipe Chaves de Oliveira Sep 08 '16 at 02:22
  • 「～て+ください」 is the polite form of 「～て+くれ」. くれ and ください are the imperative forms of くれる and くださる respectively, which mean "give (me)". The くれ/ください here is a 補助動詞(subsidiary verb), like 「～て+いる」(as in the progressive 食べています)「～て+いく」「～て+くる」「～て+あげる」「～て+もらう」 etc. In other words, 「～てください」 is the polite imperative form of 「～て+くれる」"do ~ for me"... but you can just think of 「～てください。」 as polite "Please do~", and 「～して。」 as its shortened casual form. – Chocolate Sep 08 '16 at 04:23
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Both are valid. It depends on what you want to put emphasis on.

The で in 行かないでください doesn't have a special meaning on it's own, it's just the way that this form is conjugated. Look at this for more info.

ishikun
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  • First, thank you for the answer! When you talk about emphasis do you mean that the one that comes first have more emphasis or the other way around? – Felipe Chaves de Oliveira Sep 06 '16 at 17:05
  • I feel the 2nd sentence puts more emphasis on the fact that it's dangerous than in the first, but that's my opinion. It can depend on how you say it as well. – ishikun Sep 06 '16 at 17:16