Aren't the same?

Japanese Language Grammar
1

image

Are not answer 2 and 4 the same?

2

You can’t use the ます form with です. So 4 is ungrammatical.

Here’s an explanation.

I was wrong.

3

The correct answer is 4 though :sweat_smile:

4

I’m not… seeing how that link answers the question. So which answer is correct?

Is not arimasen deshita the preferred polite past negative?

(actually I think じゃなかったです sounds right, but that’s not an option.)

edit: answered by @Naphthalene

5

Lol I saw it as です not でした。This is why I don’t answer questions. Whoops.

6

You normally don’t combine verbs and です, but the negative form ません comes from the old ぬ negation style, which is not compatible with past た, so you need a “helper” でした.