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edit approved Aug 3, 2022 at 12:52
muru
edit approved Aug 3, 2022 at 12:52
muru
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" not What does "couldn't possibly "<do something>" mean?

oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:
(1) He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't possibly catch up.

  1. He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't possibly catch up.

My variants:
(2) He started working hard much too late in the day — he possibly couldn't catch up.
(3) He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't catch up.

  1. He started working hard much too late in the day — he possibly couldn't catch up.
  2. He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't catch up.

I can understand (2) and (3) but I cannot understand (1) because when I begin translating "not possibly" (from "he could not possibly catch up") into my language I get something meaningless.
Could you help me please?

" not possibly "

oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:
(1) He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't possibly catch up.

My variants:
(2) He started working hard much too late in the day — he possibly couldn't catch up.
(3) He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't catch up.

I can understand (2) and (3) but I cannot understand (1) because when I begin translating "not possibly" (from "he could not possibly catch up") into my language I get something meaningless.
Could you help me please?

What does "couldn't possibly <do something>" mean?

oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:

  1. He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't possibly catch up.

My variants:

  1. He started working hard much too late in the day — he possibly couldn't catch up.
  2. He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't catch up.

I can understand (2) and (3) but I cannot understand (1) because when I begin translating "not possibly" (from "he could not possibly catch up") into my language I get something meaningless.
Could you help me please?

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Loviii
Loviii
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" not possibly "

oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:
(1) He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't possibly catch up.

My variants:
(2) He started working hard much too late in the day — he possibly couldn't catch up.
(3) He started working hard much too late in the day — he couldn't catch up.

I can understand (2) and (3) but I cannot understand (1) because when I begin translating "not possibly" (from "he could not possibly catch up") into my language I get something meaningless.
Could you help me please?