"Je n'ai guère d'amis." means I hardly have any friends'

chris w.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

"Je n'ai guère d'amis." means I hardly have any friends'

I think the native speaker would say 'I have hardly any' rather than 'I hardly have any'. 'Hardly any' is an expression, I think.

This question relates to:French lesson "Ne … guère = Hardly ever (French Negations)"

Asked 3 years ago

Like0Answer1

CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Chris,

Having spoken to our English specialists, both 'I have hardly any' and 'I hardly have any' are correct but the latter is a bit more colloquial and very, very common.

Like13 years ago

chris w. asked:

"Je n'ai guère d'amis." means I hardly have any friends'

I think the native speaker would say 'I have hardly any' rather than 'I hardly have any'. 'Hardly any' is an expression, I think.

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