Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 1: 4/12

Also, Too, As well, Even, Either, Neither

も's translation will change, depending on if the sentence is positive, or negative

Structure

Noun +

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Particle

  • Word Type

    Linking Particle

  • Register

    Standard

About も

can mean 'too/also', or 'even', or 'neither/either', depending on if the sentence is affirmative or negative. Multiple meanings like this are quite common for Japanese particles, as there is no need to use different words simply to agree with other statements in the sentence (unlike English).

As you can see here, English requires 'either/neither (when negative)', or 'too/also', but Japanese only requires . You can think of it as simply meaning 'Whatever is true for (A), is also true for (B)'.

is part of many other compound grammar structures in which it keeps its original meaning, but shifts the nuance a little bit. Some of these include でも, にも~ない, とも. As we can see, it is frequently paired with other particles!

Here, can be seen pairing with . This suggests that 'With (A), (B) also'. This is regularly translated simply as 'but' in English, despite the nuance being closer to 'and also'.

Examples

--:--

    あなたトムです

    You are also Tom.

    (わたし)

    Me too.

    (かれ)先生(せんせい)です

    He is also a teacher.

    (ふく)(ふる)

    The clothes, too, are old.

    (きみ)(いそが)

    You are also busy.

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      も – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (5 in total)

      • Fuga

        Fuga

        Hey @camytang ! We apologize for the late reply.

        Yes, it could be translated as ‘both’, but a more direct translation is ‘also’, and the same grammar point as this grammar point. A direct translation of the sentence ぼくもきみも、大人とよばれる年齢になった。would be ‘Also you as well as me have reached the age where we can be called adults’. Since that is an unnatural way of saying it in English, translating it as, ‘Both you and I…’ is correct and would not change the nuance of the sentence.

        We hope that answers your question!

      • camytang

        camytang

        Thank you very much! I appreciate the answer!

      • Davidf

        Davidf

        Just started. Not sure how reviews work. My first one, I got right but doesn’t seem to be way to log that or move on to next review.???

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