Special Adverbs
ぜんぜん and あまり are special adverbs that refer to quantity and are almost always used with negative verbs or adjectives.
ぜんぜん
ぜんぜん + Negative
Present Negative – At all
Past Negative – Didn’t at all
ぜんぜん means “completely” but is used with a negative to mean “not at all” (completely not)
In the present negative tense it means (not) at all.
- ぜんぜんしない – Don’t do at all → Never do
- ぜんぜん食べない – Don’t eat at all (anything) → Never eat (something)
- ぜんぜん寒くない – Not cold at all.
In the past negative tense, it means “Didn’t at all“
- ぜんぜん寝なかった – Didn’t sleep at all.
- ぜんぜん食べなかった – Didn’t eat at all
あまり
あまり means “too much” but is used with a negative to mean “not too much”
あまり + Negative
Present Negative – Not much
Past Negative – Didn’t do much
In the present negative tense it means “Not much“
- あまりしない – Don’t do a lot. →Don’t do much
- あまり飲まない – Dont drink a lot. → Don’t drink much
- あまりあつくない – Not that hot.
In the past tense, it means “Didn’t do much“
- あまり勉強しなかった. Didn’t study much.
- 公園であまりあそばなかった – I didn’t play much at the park.
See also Frequency Adverbs and Quantity Modifiers