ものではない | Grammar

Structure

[verb (dictionary form)] + ものではない [verb (potential)] + た + ものではない

Description

ものではない after a dictionary-form verb says an action is not something a person does: "you shouldn't", "one doesn't". It is advice from common sense, the kind an older person gives a younger one, not a rule.

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You shouldn't speak ill of others.

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You shouldn't tell lies.

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You shouldn't trust people so easily.

ものではない or てはいけない

is a direct prohibition: you are not allowed to. ものではない appeals to what everyone knows is right, so it lectures rather than forbids.

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You must not smoke here.

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You shouldn't smoke in front of children.

The positive, what you should do, is ものだ: やくそく約束はまもる守るものだ.

Can't be done: 〜たものではない

After a potential verb with た, ものではない says something is so bad you can't bear it: "not fit to eat", "impossible to watch".

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This food is so bad that it's impossible to eat.

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This heat is unbearable.

The た is part of the phrase, not a past tense: the food is bad now, and the heat is unbearable today.

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In speech ものではない shortens to もんじゃない, and the polite ものではありません to もんじゃありません.

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You shouldn't say things like that.

Examples

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One shouldn't reveal other people's secrets without permission.

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You shouldn't waste food.

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You shouldn't speak to your elders like that.

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You shouldn't laugh at other people's mistakes.

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One shouldn't break promises so easily.

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One shouldn't talk loudly on the phone on the train.

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You shouldn't rush like that. Think it through carefully.

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This heat is unbearable.

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His handwriting is so messy it's impossible to read.

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You shouldn't yell at children.

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You shouldn't waste your parents' money.

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One shouldn't embarrass someone in front of others.