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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    Standard

  • Rare Kanji

    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.

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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        • [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese

          Page 17

        • みんなの日本語 I

          Page 56 [CH 8]

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      とても～ない – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (8 in total)

      • 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

      • casual

        casual

        Perhaps it is covered later in the book? Someone with a copy could submit a feedback item to correct which chapter&page Bunpro should point to.

      • casual

        casual

        I have a different contention with this grammar point.

        The hints, both Japanese and English, say that means “literally, in every way, not (A)”, and “文字通り、(A)とは違う”.

        Is there a source for this, or is this a mistake?
        Grammar point write-up doesn’t explain how this means it literally at all. And all of the example sentences focus on “cannot at all” meaning, not “is not at all”.
        A dictionary (とてもとは？ 意味・読み方・使い方をわかりやすく解説 - goo国語辞書) lists this as an abbreviation of 迚も斯くても (迚も斯くても | Bunpro). And that it conveys an idea of “どのようにしても実現しない”. To me both sound as something quite different from “(A)とは違う”.

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