Hello! So I’ve been reviewing the ほとんど grammar point, and I’m hoping I can get a few things cleared up. The page says that ほとんど can mean “almost, about, hardly, and few”. Looking at the example sentences, it seems fairly clear most of the time which meaning should be applied. But there are a few sentences where it seemed they could fit a different meaning than the translation given, so I’m hoping someone can help clear why they would/wouldn’t have any secondary interpretation.
みんなは、 ほとんど帰りました。- Almost everyone has gone home.
^The first example sentence. Is there any reason why this couldn’t be read as “Hardly anyone has gone home.”? Would it just be up to context?
ほとんどの会社員が反対だった。- Most of the company employees are against it.
^Same here. Is there any reason besides context this couldn’t be read as “Hardly any of the company employees are against it.”?
田中さんはまたどこか行くのですか。彼はほとんどの国に行っているんじゃないですか。- Tanaka-san is going somewhere again? He has been to almost all of the countries, hasn’t he?
^Same here. Can it be as “He has been to hardly any countries, hasn’t he?”
褒めるだけでほとんどの子供が嬉しくなる。- Most children are content with just being praised.
^Same. “Few children are content…”?
These are all pretty much the same example, I know, but I’m curious if some could be read the opposite way, if none can, etc., and why they could/couldn’t. The question would also apply to the opposite case of the translation reading as “hardly/few…” and if it could be read as “most…”, but I couldn’t find any good example sentences in the grammar point.
Thanks for the tip, that clears up my confusion nicely. Maybe a note or something could be added to the page? Anyhow, I’ll keep this in mind for future grammar points; it never occurred to me to check whether the verb was negative or not.