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Ce texte est illisible et je ne vois guère les lettres.

Ce texte est illisible et je ne vois guère les lettres.
This text is illegible and I can hardly see the letters.
From Lesson 336:Restrictive negation (ne... guère)·French

Questions & Answers about Ce texte est illisible et je ne vois guère les lettres.

Why is there no pas after vois in this sentence?
The word guère replaces pas in this negative structure. Just like ne... jamais (never) or ne... plus (no longer), the structure ne... guère forms a complete negation meaning "hardly" or "barely". Adding pas alongside it would be incorrect.
Is ne... guère common in everyday spoken French?
Not really. It belongs to a more literary or formal register. In casual, everyday spoken French, you would be much more likely to use à peine and say je vois à peine (I can barely see) or use presque pas as in je ne vois presque pas (I almost do not see).
The English translation says "I can hardly see", but the French just uses vois (I see). Why isn't pouvoir (can) used here?
In French, verbs of perception like voir (to see) and entendre (to hear) usually do not need the helper verb pouvoir (to be able to) to express physical ability. Je ne vois guère naturally translates to "I can hardly see" in English, avoiding a clunky literal translation like je ne peux guère voir.
How is the word illisible formed?
It combines the adjective lisible (legible or readable) with the negative prefix in-. When in- attaches to a root word starting with the letter L, it transforms into il- for smoother pronunciation, giving us illisible.

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