I [barely] know her, and....

Question

Alexander: Who are you looking at?Joshua: That girl over there who's holding a book.Alexander: She looks like your type. Why don't you go talk to her.Joshua: I don't know. I barely know her, and....I'd like to know why "barely" is used, not "never."Thank you in advance for your help.

Fivejedjon · Accepted Answer

Because 'barely' makes sense and 'never' doesn't.

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, fivejedjon, for your kind answer.

Then I'd like to know if you think Joshua has little knowledge of her.
If not, I'd like to know why you think "barely" should be used, not "scarcely/ never."

Fivejedjon · Answer

Barely, scarcely and hardly are all possible. They all mean that a situation is only just true.

You could say I never (= at no time in the past) knew her, but never makes no sense with present-tense know.

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, fivejedjon, for your continuing support.

I have seen "never" used in the future tense and present perfect tense.
Then I'd like to know if I can use "never" all the other tense except for the present tense.

Fivejedjon · Answer

You can use it with the present tense with verbs suggesting actions or states that can happen more than once:

I never drink and drive.
Mary is never at home when I call.

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, fivejedjon, for your continuing support.

The following is the headline from Health section of Time on Sept. 30, 2014.
5 Reasons We May Never Know Ebola’s True Impact
<TIME http://time.com/3445222/5-reasons-ebola/>
I'd like to know what you think about the present tense of the sentence with "know" and "never" above.

Fivejedjon · Answer

It's not present tense. It's the bare infinitive following the modal 'may'.

I [barely] know her, and....

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