Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 5: 5/22

～ても～なくてもWhether ~ or not

Structure

Verb［ても］(A) + Verb［なくても］(A)

Details

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About ～ても～なくても

Like かどうか, another way that Japanese conveys 'whether or not' is through the use of ～ても～なくても. This grammar structure literally means 'even if (A), even if not (A)', to show that whatever the result is will not change, regardless of (A).

～ても～なくても is used primarily with verbs, and will always have the same verb appearing both before ても and なくても.

Related

Examples

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    釣(つ)れても釣(つ)れなくても、釣(つ)りは楽(たの)しいらしい。

    I heard fishing is fun whether you are able to catch any fish or not.

    言(い)っても言(い)わなくても、彼(かれ)はちゃんと仕事(しごと)ができるよ。

    Whether you tell him or not, he will get the job done.

    お金(かね)を持(も)っていても持(も)っていなくても、幸(しあわ)せになることは可能(かのう)です。

    You can be happy whether you have money or not.

    会(あ)えても会(あ)えなくても、18時(じ)には解散(かいさん)して帰(かえ)りましょう。

    Let's finish up and go home by 6pm, whether we can meet (them) or not.

    助手(じょしゅ)がいてもいなくても、やることはたいして変(か)わらない。

    Whether I have an assistant or not, there won't be much difference in what I do.

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～ても～なくても – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (5 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    English translation:
    Whether ~ or not

    Structure:
    Verb1 + ても + Verb1[ ない] + くても**

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  • lisaki8

    lisaki8

    I have a question about this sentence:

    お金を持っていても持っていなくても、幸せになることは可能です。

    The verbs in all the other example sentences are in the 〜て form: 勉強してもしなくても、言っても言わなくても、etc.

    Why is 持つ in the above sentence in the 持っている form?

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey @lisaki8 !

    The reason that 持つ is in the ている form is because お金を持っている is a phrase that means ‘to have money (to be in the state of possessing money)’. If 持つ were to be used here, it will change the nuance to, ‘to hold money (to physically hold money)’, and would make the whole sentence sound a bit unnatural.

    We hope that this answers your question!

  • lisaki8

    lisaki8

    Got it. Thank you so much! It’s really helpful to know the difference between ‘having money’ and ‘holding money.’

  • CroAniki

    CroAniki

    Glad someone else had the same question, I was losing my mind trying to understand why my " ても なくても" conjugation of “持つ” wasn’t getting accepted as correct.

    Perhaps it could be handy to have the verb in parentheses be “(持っている)” rather than “(持つ)” for those not aware of the phrase/difference.

  • rexd

    rexd

    Came here to say this. Please add this, there’s no indication that it’s not the basic verb otherwise.

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