negative form of taberu

Konnichiwa My quesiton relates to grammar lessons 3.6 and 3.10. There is listed the various forms of the verb (Tabemasu, tabemasen, etc), but in lesson 3.10 there is tabenai. What does tabenai mean? The lesson says it is the negative of tabemasu but if tabemasu means "I'll eat" then wouldn't the negative be tabemasen "I wont eat?" All thoughts are appreciated on the topic and thanks in advance. Ja matte ne.

Tabemasen and Tabenai both mean "won't eat" The difference is in formality. Tabemasen is the polite way to say "I won't eat" or "he/she/etc. won't eat". You use this form while talking to strangers, people you know but aren't really "friends", basically when talking to anyone of equal social status to you or below. Tabenai is the colloquial or informal way to say "I won't eat" or "He/she/etc. won't eat." You use this form when talking to friends and family as well as children. Basically used only with people of lower status than you except friends and family in which case it's ok too. If your talking to someone older, or a boss, etc. (Of higher social/working status than you) then you use something called keigo which you'll learn about in later lessons. ganbattekudasaine!

Konnichiwa! Derek-san, thank you for your excellent feedback. :P Timkern-san, as Derek-san has mentioned, *tabenai* and *tabemasen* are translated equally to _"I don't/won't eat"_ or _"he/she/it doesn't/won't eat". _ The *~nai* form is the casual negative form and the *~masen* form is the more polite negative form. Both forms are constructed by dropping the *~ru* ending from the verb *taberu*. - Sayaka :P

Arigato to both of you, that clears things up for me! Ja matte ne

どういたしまして！ Your very welcome! -Sayaka :P