The combination of the conjunction particle
て (or the case-marking particle
で), with the adverbial particle
も, often has the nuance of ‘even if (A)’, or ‘even though (A)’.
To use this structure, simply conjugate a verb or
い-Adjective into its
て-form, and then add
も.
For nouns and
な-Adjectives,
でも will be used instead.
-
あの人（ひと）に言（い）っても何（なに）も変（か）わりません。
Nothing will change even if you talk to him.
-
お茶（ちゃ）は冷（つめ）たくても美味（おい）しいから好（す）きです。
I like tea because it tastes good even if it is cold.
-
彼女（かのじょ）は仕事（しごと）が大変（たいへん）でも諦（あきら）めません。
She will not give up on work even if it is difficult.
-
安（やす）い電子（でんし）レンジでも弁当（べんとう）は温（あたた）められます。
Even with a cheap microwave you can warm up bentos.
This grammar pattern may also be used for highlighting negative sentences, and will translate similarly to ‘even if not (A)’, or ‘even though not (A)’ in these cases.
-
これは明日（あした）までに終（お）わらなくてもいいから。
It's okay even if you don’t finish this by tomorrow.
-
頭（あたま）が痛（いた）くなくてもこの薬（くすり）を飲（の）んでください。
Please take this medicine, even if your head doesn’t hurt.
-
野菜（やさい）は好（す）きじゃなくても食（た）べた方（ほう）がいい
。
Even if you don’t like vegetables, you should eat them.
-
運転手（うんてんしゅ）じゃなくてもシートベルトをしなくてはいけない。
Even if you're not the driver, you need to wear your seatbelt.
でも (the form after nouns and な-Adjectives) is often considered to be a 副助詞（ふくじょし） (adverbial particle) itself, and there is often debate amongst native speakers as to whether でも is actually a word, or simply a standard grouping of で, the 格助詞（かくじょし） and も, the 副助詞（ふくじょし）. However, It may be easier to remember でも as its own word, for learning purposes.