ことなく・
The written "without doing", with more weight than ずに: something that might well have happened didn't, often over a long stretch of time. English often says "without ever".
He worked for thirty years without once taking time off.
The train passed through the station without slowing down.
How to form it
Verb in the dictionary form + ことなく／ことなしに
休む → 休むことなく. The verb stays positive: not 休まないことなく. ことなしに means the same and is less common.
- Before it
- What didn't happen, though it could have: 休む, 迷う, あきらめる. Often a passive: 誰にも知られることなく, without anyone knowing.
- Often with
- 一度も, 最後まで, and a verb of keeping on: 続けた, ～てきた.
- Where you'll meet it
- Novels, news, documentaries, speeches, song lyrics. In conversation it is ないで or ずに.
In use
The record has been kept at the temple for over a hundred years without ever being lost.
The experiment finished on schedule, without any major problems.
The committee went on deliberating carefully, without rushing to a conclusion.
ことなく or ずに?
The fact is the same. ずに reports it; ことなく dwells on it, the way a storyteller does. Said to a friend, it sounds like reading aloud from a novel.
She left the room without saying anything.
A plain report. To a friend, 言わないで.
She left the room without saying a word.
A line from a story: she might have spoken, and didn't.
ことなしに before a negative: cannot … without
Before a negative or an "impossible", ことなしに (usually ことなしには) says the first thing can't be skipped.
You can check the information you need online, without going to the counter.
A positive ending: plain "without". You skip the trip.
The procedure can't be completed without an identity check.
A negative ending: no check, no procedure.
There is no success without effort.
A maxim. Here は is left out.
Close neighbours
ずにN3
The plain "without doing", with nothing added. A little stiffer than ないで, and said as well as written.
I ran the machine without reading the instructions.
ないことにはN2
Also "cannot … without", and the one people say: until this is done, you can't tell or can't begin.
You can't tell what someone is like unless you meet them.
なしで・なしにN1
After a noun, the plain "without": 予約なしで, 休みなしに. With は and a negative it is "cannot … without".
This project can't continue without the agreement of local people.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
彼は
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this mean?
相手の
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
The research team kept up its observations until dawn without a single break.
The report sets out the findings in detail, hiding none of the important facts.
How the accident happened can't be examined unless detailed records are kept.