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Has ever had

José_A

Senior Member
Español
Hi:
I'm trying to say:
He never uses suit. I doubt he has ever had.
I believe the first part would be ok as:
彼は決して背広を着ていません。
But the second part... I just can't handle it, I can't think of a way of saying "has ever had".
Any help is welcome.
Thank you!!
Uchi.mさんは決して背広を着ていませんね。一度でも着たかどうかは分かりません。
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Uchi.mさんは決して背広を着ていません。一度でも着たかどうかは分かりません。
Is "～かどうかわからない" really as doubtful as "I doubt ～"? I would have thought the second sentence would be more like "一度も来たことないと思う。".
Also, isn't "決して～" usually used with the non-past "～しない" rather than the continuous "～していない"? (I could be wrong.)
Hello, The Mad King
Is "～かどうかわからない" really as doubtful as "I doubt ～"? I would have thought the second sentence would be more like "一度も来たことないと思う。".
Is the English rendition I doubt if Uchi.m has ever worn it equivalent to I am not sure whether Uchi.m has ever worn a suit or not? If not, what are doubt gradients expressed like in English?
Also, isn't "決して～" usually used with the non-past "～しない" rather than the continuous "～していない"? (I could be wrong.)
Kesshite is usually used with a negative verb, this is a fact, but as for the progressive aspect of said verb, it expresses whether the meaning is a point in time (Uchi.m has decided not to wear suits) or something rather permanent (Uchi.m is always mindful not to wear suits).
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Hello, The Mad King
Isn't the English rendition I doubt if Uchi.m has ever wore it equivalent to I am not sure whether Uchi.m has ever wore a suit or not? If not, what are doubt gradients expressed like in English?
Well, this isn't an English forum, but...

Firstly, the past-participle of "wear" is "worn".
To answer your question...
The first sentence means that the speaker has a reason to suspect that Uchi has never worn it before.
The second sentence means that either
A. the speaker has no idea; or
B. the speaker has a suspicion (one way or the other), but he has no confidence in this suspicion.
Uchi.mさんは決して背広を着ていませんね。一度でも着ていなかったそうですが。

I just wonder how come one can state never when one has doubts 👁 Eek! :eek:
This doesn't sound okay in Japanese
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This is a normal course of action for someone. Use the basic verb form. 着ていない collides with 決して, which is a very generic expression. The former is a description of a temporary state of things due to -teiru.
ABCは決してスーツを着ない。


Do you mean the speaker does not think he has ever owned a pair of suits? If so, here is my suggestion:
一着だって持ったことがあるかどうか怪しいものだ。
Thanks Flaminus.

So, was I correct that 決して is only used with future-tense (しない)?

Also, does the Japanese ～するかどうか怪しい have the same connotations as ～しない（か）と思う?
(Because, as a native English speaker, "I doubt ~" is essentially equivalent to "I don't think ~".)
決して is only used with future-tense (しない)?
しない is not the future but non-past but you might be more interested in how to use 決して. It is for describing customs like the thread opening sentence and for making a resolution. An example for the latter:
もう決して嘘はつきません。ごめんなさい。

Also, does the Japanese ～するかどうか怪しい have the same connotations as ～しないと思う?
(Because, as a native English speaker, "I doubt ~" is essentially equivalent to "I don't think ~".)
The Japanese constructions are as good a pair as the English ones.
Thanks for the clarification. I was actually going to say "non-past", but I wasn't sure whether that was the accepted term or just a term that I'd read somewhere. (I thought it might be a bit ambiguous as している might be seen as "non-past" as well.)
もう決して嘘はつきません。ごめんなさい。
Is this second usage of 決して (making a resolution) interchangeable with 二度と?
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