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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. 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