# Has ever had



## José_A

Hi:
I'm trying to say:
He never uses suit. I doubt he has ever had.
I believe the first part would be ok as:
彼は決して背広を着ていません。
But the second part... I just can't handle it, I can't think of a way of saying "has ever had".
Any help is welcome.
Thank you!!


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## uchi.m

Uchi.mさんは決して背広を着ていませんね。一度でも着たかどうかは分かりません。


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## The Mad King

uchi.m said:


> Uchi.mさんは決して背広を着ていません。一度でも着たかどうかは分かりません。


Is "～かどうかわからない" really as doubtful as "I doubt ～"? I would  have thought the second sentence would be more like "一度も来たことないと思う。". 
Also, isn't "決して～" usually used with the non-past "～しない"  rather than the continuous "～していない"? (I could be wrong.)


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## uchi.m

Hello, The Mad King





The Mad King said:


> Is "～かどうかわからない" really as doubtful as "I doubt ～"? I would  have thought the second sentence would be more like "一度も来たことないと思う。".


Is the English rendition* I doubt if Uchi.m has ever worn it *equivalent to *I am not sure whether Uchi.m has ever worn a suit or not*? If not, what are doubt gradients expressed like in English? 


The Mad King said:


> Also, isn't "決して～" usually used with the non-past "～しない"  rather than the continuous "～していない"? (I could be wrong.)


Kesshite is usually used with a negative verb, this is a fact, but as for the progressive aspect of said verb, it expresses whether the meaning is a point in time (Uchi.m has decided not to wear suits) or something rather permanent (Uchi.m is always mindful not to wear suits).


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## The Mad King

uchi.m said:


> Hello, The Mad King
> Isn't the English rendition* I doubt if Uchi.m has ever wore it *equivalent to *I am not sure whether Uchi.m has ever wore a suit or not*? If not, what are doubt gradients expressed like in English?


Well, this isn't an English forum, but... 

Firstly, the past-participle of "wear" is "worn". 
To answer your question...
The first sentence means that the speaker has a reason to suspect that Uchi has never worn it before. 
The second sentence means that either 
A. the speaker has no idea; or 
B. the speaker has a suspicion (one way or the other), but he has no confidence in this suspicion.


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## uchi.m

Uchi.mさんは*決して*背広を着ていませんね。一度でも着ていなかったそうですが。

I just wonder how come one can state *never* when one has doubts  This doesn't sound okay in Japanese


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## Flaminius

He never uses suit.
This is a normal course of action for someone.  Use the basic verb form.  着ていない collides with 決して, which is a very generic expression.  The former is a description of a temporary state of things due to _-teiru_.
ABCは決してスーツを着ない。

I doubt he has ever had.
Do you mean the speaker does not think he has ever owned a pair of suits? If so, here is my suggestion:
一着だって持ったことがあるかどうか怪しいものだ。


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## The Mad King

Thanks Flaminus. 

So, was I correct that 決して is only used with future-tense (しない)?

Also, does the Japanese ～するかどうか怪しい have the same connotations as ～しない（か）と思う? 
(Because, as a native English speaker, "I doubt ~" is essentially equivalent to "I don't think ~".)


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## Flaminius

The Mad King said:


> 決して is only used with future-tense (しない)?


しない is not the future but non-past but you might be more interested in how to use 決して.  It is for describing customs like the thread opening sentence and for making a resolution.  An example for the latter:
もう決して嘘はつきません。ごめんなさい。



> Also, does the Japanese ～するかどうか怪しい have the same connotations as ～しないと思う?
> (Because, as a native English speaker, "I doubt ~" is essentially equivalent to "I don't think ~".)


The Japanese constructions are as good a pair as the English ones.


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## The Mad King

Thanks for the clarification. I was actually going to say "non-past", but I wasn't sure whether that was the accepted term or just a term that I'd read somewhere. (I thought it might be a bit ambiguous as している might be seen as "non-past" as well.)


> もう決して嘘はつきません。ごめんなさい。


Is this second usage of 決して (making a resolution) interchangeable with 二度と?


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## uchi.m

The Mad King said:


> Is this second usage of 決して (making a resolution) interchangeable with 二度と?


Yes, in that particular case.


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