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 (7 in total)

      • 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.???

      • Fach

        Fach

        Not directly related to も particle, but in one of the examples 彼女 was referred to as “she”. Doesn’t it mean girlfriend or a friend who’s a girl?

      • Scyamntic

        Scyamntic

        Both, it’s dependent on context

        • あの彼女は何をしているかな | “What is she doing I wonder”

        • 彼女からプレゼントをもらった! | “I got a present from my girlfriend!”

          • if the previous sentence had included someone’s name or other context that specified a person, and that person was not your girlfriend, the 彼女 would then refer to that previously mentioned person and take on the definition “she”
        • メアリーは優しいい人だ。彼女がよく保健所で手伝うらしい。| “Mary is a nice person. It seems she often helps at the animal shelter”

        Etc.

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