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I was reading this answer and I came across this:

(A) 何もしないで暖かくする (ambiguous)

(B) 何もしなくて暖かくする (unambiguous)

I'm not sure why A is ambiguous, but here's my understanding: unlike なくて, ないで doesn't imply a cause, so it could either mean that not doing anything keeps you warm or not. However, in the same answer, it says that B does not mean "keep the body warm by not doing any activity," which contradicts what I know about なくて, that is, it implies a cause. In other words, I would translate both as follows:

(A) 何もしないで暖かくする。

Somebody doesn't do anything and keeps warm.

not necessarily Somebody keeps warm by not doing anything.

(B) 何もしなくて暖かくする。

Somebody keeps warm by not doing anything.

not Somebody doesn't do anything and keeps warm.

Nameless
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  • You are using “by” to indicate means, not cause. – aguijonazo Dec 21 '21 at 23:53
  • @aguijonazo By the means of not doing anything, I keep warm. So, If I don't do anything, I keep warm. – Nameless Dec 22 '21 at 01:32
  • 暖かく**する** refers to something you intentionally do, possibly using some means, not something that happens as a result of some external cause. It is essential to distinguish cause and means here because ないで may indicate means or attendant circumstances, but not cause. – aguijonazo Dec 22 '21 at 02:10
  • Having said that, I would understand A (only) the way you did, and would have to think very hard to guess what B is supposed to mean. It sounds so unnatural. – aguijonazo Dec 22 '21 at 02:24
  • I'm confused. When you say "cause", do you mean *external* cause? Because something you intentionally do causes something. – Nameless Dec 22 '21 at 02:49
  • First of all, when something you intentionally do, such as 暖かくする, becomes a cause of something, it (as the cause) would come before て, not after. When such an intentional act is caused by something, on the other hand, that something (i.e. the cause) must be some external force or circumstances, or something that makes you behave in a certain way, although it might just happen to come from within, such as your instinct or urge to keep yourself warm. Your own conscious no-action of 何もしない is no such thing, or at least, the “by” in your translation doesn’t indicate such a cause. – aguijonazo Dec 22 '21 at 03:44

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