Six Adverbs, One Rule
Each of these requires a negative predicate. Using them with an affirmative verb is ungrammatical, not merely odd.
| Adverb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 決して〜ない | never, absolutely not |
| めったに〜ない | rarely, seldom |
| なかなか〜ない | not easily, won't ~ despite effort |
| 全く〜ない | not at all |
| 別に〜ない | not particularly |
| 必ずしも〜ない | not necessarily |
- 決して忘れません。(I will never forget.)
なかなか — The Tricky One
なかなか with a negative means "not easily, however hard I try". With an affirmative it means the opposite — "quite, rather", and is a compliment:
| なかなか来ない | he just won't come |
| なかなかいいですね | that's rather good |
It is the one member of this set that also lives an affirmative life, so the negative is not obligatory for なかなか alone.
別に — The Deflection
別に〜ない answers a question while declining to elaborate. On its own, 別に is famously curt — a one-word way of saying "nothing in particular", and it can read as sulky.
必ずしも
Pairs almost exclusively with とは限らない and similar hedges.