Liveinjapan  +  325853 Thu, 08 Feb 07 01:52 AM Hi! Please help me clarify which is better to use below. " It is rather unlikely for him to get married with Britney Spears." "It is rather impossible for him to get married with Britney Spears." I think "rather" goes well with "unlikely" and "almost" goes well with "impossible" , so "It is almost impossible for him to get married with Britney" is better. Of course, you could say " It is rather impossible......." and that sounds naturall, I think. When seaching with GOOGLE on the internet, "almost impossible" is likely hit more than "rather impossible". What do you think about that? Liveinjapan Joined on Sun, Feb 4 2007 Osaka, Japan Senior Member 2,366 Please feel free to correct any words I wrote.LiJ

	Marvin A.  +  325868 Thu, 08 Feb 07 02:42 AM It is rather unlikely that he would marry Britney Spears. (or get married to) It would be rather impossible for him to marry Britney Spears. Marvin A. Joined on Fri, Dec 8 2006 Regular Member 638

	Liveinjapan  +  325872 Thu, 08 Feb 07 02:47 AM Thanks! These lines sound natural to me. Do you mean "It would be rather unlikely for him to marry Britney"  is not correct? Liveinjapan

	Grammar Geek  +  325884 Thu, 08 Feb 07 03:16 AM For him to marry  is okay. For him to get married to is okay. For him to get married with is not okay. (At least, in American English.) Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 20,841 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! American English

	CalifJim  +  325913 Thu, 08 Feb 07 04:20 AM I think "rather" goes well with "unlikely" and "almost" goes well with "impossible" , so "It is almost impossible for him to get married with Britney" is better. Exactly.  impossible is an absolute extreme, like perfect.  Things can be almost impossible or almost perfect, but not rather or somewhat or a little bit impossible or perfect. Also:  for him to marry Britney. Or: for him to get married to Britney. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 24,151 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	Liveinjapan  +  325914 Thu, 08 Feb 07 04:20 AM Hi! Grammar Geek. It's really helpful. I understand what you mean. And It's not a matter of which word ("unlikely" or "impossible") goes well with "rather", is it? Using "unlikely" or "impossible" in the natural sentence form is important, right? Liveinjapan Grammar

	Liveinjapan  +  325916 Thu, 08 Feb 07 04:25 AM Hi, Your response really helped me understand that. impossible is an absolute extreme, like perfect. Things can be almost impossible or almost perfect, but not rather or somewhat or a little bit impossible or perfect. I remember that. Thanks! Liveinjapan