〜ないで, 〜なくて, and 〜ずに: connecting negative clauses
Distinguish doing one action without another from a negative state that supplies a reason or background. Learn the formation and common use of ずに as well.
Continue without doing something with ないで
朝、テレビを見ないで家を出ました。 means that someone left home in the morning without watching television. ないで can place an action that was not done in the background of the following action.
肉を買わないで、魚を選びました。 says that someone chose fish rather than buying meat. Depending on context, ないで can contrast the action not chosen with the one that was chosen.
Connect a negative state with なくて
鍵が見つからなくて、家に入れませんでした。 means that someone could not enter the house because the key could not be found. Here the negative state supplies the reason for the result.
この部屋は広くなくて、窓も小さいです。 links two descriptions: the room is not spacious, and its windows are also small. なくて does not always impose a strict cause-and-effect reading, so examine the following clause.
Form ずに, including the irregular する
彼は説明書を読まずに機械を動かしました。 says that he operated the machine without reading the manual. In this use, ずに is close to ないで and is also common in more formal or written contexts.
予約せずに店へ行きました。 uses せずに, the ずに form of する, rather than しずに. For most verbs, replace the final ない with ずに, as in 書かない becoming 書かずに.
Quick check: To explain being late because the train did not come, is 電車が来なくて more suitable than 電車が来ないで?
Show the answer and why
Yes. 電車が来なくて、会議に遅れました。 connects the negative state to the resulting lateness as its reason.