Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 6: 8/24

とても～ないNot ~ at all, Cannot ~ at all

Strong sense of impossibility

Structure

とても + Verb［ない］

Details

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    迚

About とても～ない

When seen in sentences containing verbs negated with the auxiliary verb ない, とても carries the nuance of 'not (A) at all', or 'cannot (A) at all'. とても is supposed to only be used when expressing 'impossibility', 不可能(ふかのう). Due to this, it will primarily appear alongside the potential form of verbs.

Fun Fact

As long as some part of the sentence expresses the speaker's view about the impossibility of (A), the verb is not always required to be in the negative form.

  • 彼(かれ)に子供(こども)ができたの！？彼(かれ)が親(おや)になることを想像(そうぞう)するのはとても無理(むり)だ。
    He has a baby coming? I cannot imagine him becoming a parent at all.
  • どこの航空会社(こうくうがいしゃ)も今(いま)はチケットを売(う)っていないから、旅行(りょこう)をするのがとても無理(むり)だ。
    No airline company is selling airline tickets, so it is not possible to travel at all.

Examples

--:--

    とても考(かんが)えられない。

    I cannot think of it at all.

    とても観光(かんこう)できない。

    I cannot do any sight-seeing at all.

    とても観察(かんさつ)できない。

    I cannot do any observations at all.

    とても完成(かんせい)させられない。

    I cannot complete it at all.

    とても記憶(きおく)できない。

    I can't memorize anything at all.

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        • みんなの日本語 I

          Page 56 [CH 8]

        • [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese

          Page 17

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      とても～ない – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

      • Aythreuk

        Aythreuk

        Should 「とっても」 be a possible answer in any of these 「とても」 related grammar points?
        The more I think about it, the more it doesn’t seem to matter.

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        @Aythreuk Hey! While とっても and とても are normally interchangeable, with とっても generally adding more emphasis/being stronger than とても, it is better to use とても in this structure as it is closer to a set phrase (とても〜ない rather than just とても). とっても can also be considered more colloquial/spoken than とても and should be avoided in written language. That being said, we weren’t catching とっても for this grammar point, so I have updated the answers that throw hints/warnings to display the above information. Cheers!

      • MeTheHamster

        MeTheHamster

        I had the same confusion as @Arashi as the specific page mentioned by the resources in this grammar lesson points to Minna no Nihongo I, page 56, CH8 where the basic forms of totemo and amari are shown but not totemo~nai.
        I’m cramming Minna no Nihongo I as I’m restarting my language studies but I had never seen this form before. nbd though

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