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彼はもう英語を教えるまい。 (Most probably, he won't teach English any more.) I got this sentence from this thread. もう doesn't seem necessary to use or have. Isn't the meaning the same if it was like this: 彼は英語を教えるまい。?

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dotnetN00b
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1 Answers1

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In this case もう gives the meaning "any more". Without it, the sentence would mean:
"He probably doesn't teach English".

Note that 教えるまい has the same meaning as 教えないだろう. The latter form is more commonly used but the former is still used in writing sometimes.

ジョン
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  • Oh. I thought it just mean "even" or "still". Such as: He **still** hasn't found his keys. – dotnetN00b Apr 26 '12 at 14:33
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    @dotnetN00b The most common meanings for もう are "already" and "any more". He **still** hasn't found his keys would be **まだ** 鍵（かぎ）を見つけていない. Is that what you're thinking of? As for "even", that sounds like yet another word, but without some context I couldn't say what the correct Japanese word would be. – ジョン Apr 26 '12 at 14:35
  • I think I need to refer back to Genki 1. Maybe I'm remembering wrong... – dotnetN00b Apr 26 '12 at 14:39
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    @ジョン "Even" would probably be さえ or すら =) – rintaun Apr 26 '12 at 14:39
  • @rintaun Yep, or even -ても :) In fact this is the most likely one if we're talking about Genki 1 – ジョン Apr 26 '12 at 14:43
  • @rintaun: I don't think so. I remember from the chapter when they introduce the -te iru form. I'm pretty sure that もう was in that chapter also. – dotnetN00b Apr 26 '12 at 16:14
  • @dotnetN00b What are you disputing exactly? さえ and すら are two candidates for "even", depending on context. – ジョン Apr 26 '12 at 16:51
  • @ジョン - I was disputing rintaun's comment about -ても as opposed to もう in Genki 1. In either case, I'd have to verify when I get home. – dotnetN00b Apr 26 '12 at 17:18
  • @dotnetN00b I dont't see a comment like that from rintaun. Deleted? – ジョン Apr 26 '12 at 17:23
  • @ジョン LOL. The comment was from you. Oops. – dotnetN00b Apr 26 '12 at 17:31
  • @dotnetN00b SE has suggested this discussion be [moved to chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/3240/discussion-between--and-dotnetn00b). As for the comment, I was simply saying that -ても is a more likely candidate to be in Genki than さえ and すら. -ても and もう are completely different, so I'm not making any claims about one opposed to the other. – ジョン Apr 26 '12 at 17:55