Я вряд ли смогу забыть тот последний аккорд: едва он прозвучал, как в зале начались аплодисменты.

I will hardly be able to forget that final chord: hardly had it sounded when applause began in the hall.

Breakdown of Я вряд ли смогу забыть тот последний аккорд: едва он прозвучал, как в зале начались аплодисменты.

• я: I
• в: in
• зал: the hall
• тот: that

Questions & Answers about Я вряд ли смогу забыть тот последний аккорд: едва он прозвучал, как в зале начались аплодисменты.

What does вряд ли mean grammatically, and where is it placed in the sentence?

Вряд ли is a set phrase meaning something like hardly, unlikely, or I very much doubt that.

In this sentence, Я вряд ли смогу забыть... means I will hardly be able to forget..., which in natural English is closer to I’m unlikely to ever forget... or I can hardly imagine forgetting....

A few useful points:

• Вряд ли usually goes before the verb or before the part of the sentence it modifies.
• It does not change form.
• It often expresses the speaker’s doubt about a future possibility.

So:

• Я вряд ли смогу забыть... = I’m unlikely to be able to forget...

Why is it смогу забыть instead of just забуду?

Both are possible in Russian, but they are not exactly the same.

• Я забуду = I will forget
• Я смогу забыть = I will be able to forget

The sentence uses смогу забыть because it emphasizes ability/possibility, not just the future event itself. The speaker is saying that forgetting that chord is so difficult that they probably won’t even be able to do it.

So the nuance is stronger:

• Я не забуду = I won’t forget.
• Я вряд ли смогу забыть = I will probably not even manage to forget.