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

  • Register

    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.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

  • Online

    • Offline

        • [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese

          Page 17

        • みんなの日本語 I

          Page 56 [CH 8]

      • Track Resources!

        Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.

      とても～ない – Grammar Discussion

      Join the Discussion