Difference between 本当に and 全然 in a negative sentence


I want to translate something like the following:

> I watched a movie with together with my friends.  
>  _Not at all_ did I watch it _alone_.

Where the _"not at all"_ is supposed to express obvious sarcasm regarding the
_alone_ -ness.  
**EDIT:** _Obvious sarcasm_ because _"I"_ doesn't really have friends, except
maybe imaginary ones etc.  
The exact wording isn't really important. It should just sound like a complete
and obvious rejection of _alone_. (If that makes any sense...)

So my attempt was:

> 友達{ともだち}と一緒{いっしょ}に映画{えいが}を見{み}た。  
>  全然{ぜんぜん}一人{ひとり}では見{み}なかったよ。

I was told that this would not have my intended meaning because 全然{ぜんぜん}
relates to just 見{み}なかった and not the whole sentence. So it would mean _"Alone,
I did not at all watch it."_  
As an alternative the following would be possible:

> …  
>  本当{ほんとう}に一人{ひとり}では見{み}なかったよ。

Since this is supposed to be a correction, I understand this to translate as
_"I really did not watch it alone."_ and not, analogously, as _"Alone, I
really did not watch it."_

  1. If everything I'm assuming is correct, why do those two adverbs translate differently in this way, that is, why do they relate to different parts of the sentence? If not, what are my mistakes? 

  2. What would be the best translation of my original sentence? Maybe

> 友達{ともだち}と一緒{いっしょ}に映画{えいが}を見{み}た、全然{ぜんぜん}一人{ひとり}ではなく。

?




Although I'm not sure I got the full meaning what you tried to show us in your
examples, I think the difference between `本当に……ない` and `全然……ない` seems already
obvious in your own translation.

As you said, `本当に` means _really_ , while `全然` means _at all_. Thus naturally,
the former wants to modify the whole _event_ , and the latter, the _negation_.
Put simply, `全然` always looks for the closest "not", and `本当に` looks for the
closest predicate.

Now if the sentence has only one "not":

> **全然** 一人ではできない。 ≈ 一人では **全然** できない。  
>  Both roughly means "I **definitely** ca **n't** do it alone."

But,

> **全然** 書けないわけではない。 _It's not that I can't write **at all**._  
>  ≠ 書けないわけでは **全然** ない。 _It's **definitely** not that I can't write._

On the other hand, `本当に` is:

> **本当に** 一人では危険だ。 _**Trust me** , It's dangerous (going) alone._ (i.e. "it is
> dangerous alone" is real.)  
>  ≠ 一人では **本当に** 危険だ。 _It's **really** dangerous (when you go) alone._ (i.e.
> "be dangerous" is real.)

So you could say (a) `全然一人では見なかった。` is grammatically parallel to (b)
`一人では本当に見なかった。`, but not to (c) `本当に一人では見なかった。`

Last but not least, I copied your example in (a), but I have to say the
sentences (a) and (b) doesn't sound really natural to me.

* * *

For your second question, actually, if I were in the speaker's shoes, I
wouldn't use either of those constructions. I'd instead say:

> （別に）一人で見たわけじゃない（し／もん／から）。  
>  （別に）一人なんかじゃなかった（し／もん／から）。

I still can't grasp the nuance of your "obvious sarcasm", but as you may know,
別に also is a typical [tsundere](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundere)
expression to deny an obvious fact.




Although I'm not sure I got the full meaning what you tried to show us in your
examples, I think the difference between `本当に……ない` and `全然……ない` seems already
obvious in your own translation.

As you said, `本当に` means _really_ , while `全然` means _at all_. Thus naturally,
the former wants to modify the whole _event_ , and the latter, the _negation_.
Put simply, `全然` always looks for the closest "not", and `本当に` looks for the
closest predicate.

Now if the sentence has only one "not":

> **全然** 一人ではできない。 ≈ 一人では **全然** できない。  
>  Both roughly means "I **definitely** ca **n't** do it alone."

But,

> **全然** 書けないわけではない。 _It's not that I can't write **at all**._  
>  ≠ 書けないわけでは **全然** ない。 _It's **definitely** not that I can't write._

On the other hand, `本当に` is:

> **本当に** 一人では危険だ。 _**Trust me** , It's dangerous (going) alone._ (i.e. "it is
> dangerous alone" is real.)  
>  ≠ 一人では **本当に** 危険だ。 _It's **really** dangerous (when you go) alone._ (i.e.
> "be dangerous" is real.)

So you could say (a) `全然一人では見なかった。` is grammatically parallel to (b)
`一人では本当に見なかった。`, but not to (c) `本当に一人では見なかった。`

Last but not least, I copied your example in (a), but I have to say the
sentences (a) and (b) doesn't sound really natural to me.

* * *

For your second question, actually, if I were in the speaker's shoes, I
wouldn't use either of those constructions. I'd instead say:

> （別に）一人で見たわけじゃない（し／もん／から）。  
>  （別に）一人なんかじゃなかった（し／もん／から）。

I still can't grasp the nuance of your "obvious sarcasm", but as you may know,
別に also is a typical [tsundere](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundere)
expression to deny an obvious fact.

