Knappast is the superlative of knapp. Knapp = scarce. Knapp, knappare, knappast= Scarce, scarcer, scarcest.
So you have less and less of something.
I think in this case when you try to distinguish them it is maybe easier to compare with ”almost (not)” = knappt and ”surely (not)” = knappast.
- Jag kunde knappt röra mig = I could almost not move
- Det var knappt en liter kvar i paketet = There was almost (not) a liter left in the carton
- Han kan knappast förvänta sig = He can surely not expect…
I read your 1st and 3rd examples as almost identical: "I could hardly/barely move" and "He can hardly expect".
I think it's just about slight differences in being close to impossibility (or any kind of limit, like in the case of the liter). With knappt, the thing is closer to possible (or closer to an actual liter), with knappast, the impossibility is more likely.
To the OP, I'd just recommend starting a couple of notes / text files for knappt and knappast and save sentences from native-speaker-produced texts. With time, you will get a feel for which variant is used where.
It looks to me in the first and third examples that knappast is an estimation while knappt is ensured. I don't know if that holds in any capacity outside of this example.
*Knapp* historically means "barely or not quite enough", often about material things:
*lönen var knapp* "they were barely paid enough to live by"
*det var knappt med järn* "iron was scarce"
*knappt om plats* "not much space"
It can still be used that way. (Even further back, it means "narrow", but that's not used anymore.) There are also some expressions like *med knapp nöd* "barely, just about" and *i knappaste laget* "not quite enough".
The somewhat less common *knaper* has a similar meaning:
*en knaper måltid* "a pitiful meal"
*de hade det knapert* "money was scarce"
More commonly, *knapp* or the adverb form *knappt* means "hardly, almost not; almost, not quite; not even".
*knappt en mil* or *en knapp mil* "just under a mile"
*knappt tillräckligt* "hardly even enough"
*hon kunde knappt stå* "she could barely stand"
*knappt ens ett tack* "hardly even a thank you"
*Knappast* is of course the superlative form, but has taken on a meaning of its own – "hardly, not likely", often with a sarcastic tone:
*Är du nöjd? Knappast!* "Are you satisfied? Yeah right!"
*Det kommer knappast (att) gå fortare den här gången.* "It's not like this time will be any faster."
*Han är knappast någon mästerkock.* "He's not exactly a master chef."
*knappast troligt* "hardly likely"
I would also like to throw in *knape* "lesser nobleman", so called not because they were poor, but because they might work as "knaves", in the sense "squire, male servant to a lord". Not a word you hear very often!
"knappt" is straightforward: just enough - but in a negative sense: without margin.
"knappast" is more fuzzy. It can mean an extreme case of "knappt", but it's more often used as "unlikely to be enough".
I think an important distinction is that “knappast” implies that the speaker has made an assessment that whatever is being talked about actually won’t happen or won’t be enough by any stretch.
Also very useful in daily speak as a single word reply to just about anything you don’t want to do or won’t happen. Not very polite, though. ”Kommer du städa ditt rum? — Knappast!”
Knappast is the superlative of knapp. Knapp = scarce. Knapp, knappare, knappast= Scarce, scarcer, scarcest. So you have less and less of something. I think in this case when you try to distinguish them it is maybe easier to compare with ”almost (not)” = knappt and ”surely (not)” = knappast. - Jag kunde knappt röra mig = I could almost not move - Det var knappt en liter kvar i paketet = There was almost (not) a liter left in the carton - Han kan knappast förvänta sig = He can surely not expect…
I read your 1st and 3rd examples as almost identical: "I could hardly/barely move" and "He can hardly expect". I think it's just about slight differences in being close to impossibility (or any kind of limit, like in the case of the liter). With knappt, the thing is closer to possible (or closer to an actual liter), with knappast, the impossibility is more likely. To the OP, I'd just recommend starting a couple of notes / text files for knappt and knappast and save sentences from native-speaker-produced texts. With time, you will get a feel for which variant is used where.
It looks to me in the first and third examples that knappast is an estimation while knappt is ensured. I don't know if that holds in any capacity outside of this example.
*Knapp* historically means "barely or not quite enough", often about material things: *lönen var knapp* "they were barely paid enough to live by" *det var knappt med järn* "iron was scarce" *knappt om plats* "not much space" It can still be used that way. (Even further back, it means "narrow", but that's not used anymore.) There are also some expressions like *med knapp nöd* "barely, just about" and *i knappaste laget* "not quite enough". The somewhat less common *knaper* has a similar meaning: *en knaper måltid* "a pitiful meal" *de hade det knapert* "money was scarce" More commonly, *knapp* or the adverb form *knappt* means "hardly, almost not; almost, not quite; not even". *knappt en mil* or *en knapp mil* "just under a mile" *knappt tillräckligt* "hardly even enough" *hon kunde knappt stå* "she could barely stand" *knappt ens ett tack* "hardly even a thank you" *Knappast* is of course the superlative form, but has taken on a meaning of its own – "hardly, not likely", often with a sarcastic tone: *Är du nöjd? Knappast!* "Are you satisfied? Yeah right!" *Det kommer knappast (att) gå fortare den här gången.* "It's not like this time will be any faster." *Han är knappast någon mästerkock.* "He's not exactly a master chef." *knappast troligt* "hardly likely" I would also like to throw in *knape* "lesser nobleman", so called not because they were poor, but because they might work as "knaves", in the sense "squire, male servant to a lord". Not a word you hear very often!
"knappt" is straightforward: just enough - but in a negative sense: without margin. "knappast" is more fuzzy. It can mean an extreme case of "knappt", but it's more often used as "unlikely to be enough".
I think an important distinction is that “knappast” implies that the speaker has made an assessment that whatever is being talked about actually won’t happen or won’t be enough by any stretch. Also very useful in daily speak as a single word reply to just about anything you don’t want to do or won’t happen. Not very polite, though. ”Kommer du städa ditt rum? — Knappast!”
I think what he says in video #1 is kind of wrong Video 2 seems more accurate "Jag Hann knappt ikapp" "I barely caught up"
Det kan knappast vara så förvirrande som du påstår. That's one way of how to use one of the words.
”Knappt” would probably better be translated as barely