I was reviewing the [っこない] grammar point and noticed it conjugates differently with 勝つ.
Most verbs use the ます stem, e.g. [できっこない]. But 勝つ somehow becomes [勝てっこない]. It uses the て form and also shortens it from the usual 勝って.
Does this apply to all verbs with the つ ending?
This is the potential form of 勝つ (勝てる) plus っこない, following the regular conjugation rules. っこない is often used with the potential form of verbs (no way I can do xyz). できる is a exception as a potential verb as it replaces the expected potential form of する with a completely different verb rather than a conjugation of する itself. Let me know if it still doesn’t make sense!
Fantastic reply, thanks. It didn’t occur to me that it was using the potential form.