The Particle も I: Also/Too
This lesson is our introductory lesson to the adverbial particle も, which is crucial to expressing “also.”
The Adverbial Particle も
副助詞の「も」
The particle も follows nouns to express the meaning of “also/too,” expressing how two things are one of the same thing. Whenever this meaning is used, the overall tone of the sentence is softened. In grammatical relation to other particles, も can appear after subjects and objects, but it cannot be used with the particles that mark those purposes. Meaning, it cannot be used after が, は, or を1. Instead, those particles get deleted from the sentence altogether.
1. （お）天気もいいですね。
The weather’s good, too.
2. ネックレスも買いました。
I also bought a necklace.
3. コーヒーも下さい。
Coffee, too, please.
4. 僕もお腹が空いた。
I’m also hungry.
5. きょうの試合も終わった！
Today’s match has ended too!
6. 日本語もできますか？
Can you also speak Japanese
7. 虫も嫌いです！
I also hate bugs!
8. 私も日本人ではありません。
I, too, am not Japanese.
9. 僕も傷の治りも早い。
I also heal quickly.
Grammar Note: Ex. 9 is a perfect example of how XはYがZ can transform with も. Both the topic and object markers can be replaced with も, and the sense of “also” extends separately. So, in Ex. 9, the speaker is relating himself to the listener while also mentioning how he also heals quickly, suggesting there is another skill he is quick at.
It is also possible to see multiple も in the same sentence in the pattern XもYも, which translates as either “both X and Y” or “neither X nor Y” depending on whether the sentence is positive or negative respectively. This, too, is not limited to just two words. Multiple ‘topics’ can be chained together with a sequence of も. This is not quite the same as Ex. 9 because X and Y were not both topics.
10. 東京も京都も雨です。
There is rain in both Tokyo and Kyoto.
11. ポケモンもデジモンも大好きでした。
I loved both Pokémon and Digimon.
12. ラファエル君もデニス君もバカだね。
Both Rafael and Dennis are pretty dumb, don’t you think?
13. 僕もマイケル君もジェニファーさんもみんなアメリカ人です。
Michael, Jennifer, and I are all Americans.
14. 数学も理科も苦手です。
I’m bad at both math and science.
Sometimes you will find phrases utilizing the pattern XもX to describe how exactly something is so much the case.
15. 成功も成功、大成功だ。
What a success, it was a great success.
16. 真ん中も真ん中、ど真ん中の好球!
Such a great throw right in the center, smack-dab in the center!
Sometimes the particle も describes how an unusual circumstance may also hold too, and in this situation it can be translated as “even.” This is often used in set phrases, but it is not limited to them.
17. 猿も木から落ちる。
Even monkeys fall from trees.
18. 弘法も筆の誤り。
Literally: Even Kobo would have a mistake in his penmanship.
To err is human.
Although も does not combine with が or は, it does combine with other case particles. As we have not studied the exact meanings of other particles just yet, only a few examples will be shown here to get an image of how も functions.
19. 日本へも行きました。
I also went to Japan.
20. 母にもプレゼントをあげました。
I also gave my mother a present.
21. 向こうの町からも火が見えます。
Fire can also be seen from the village across.
Used with the Negative
打ち消しの補強
When the particle も is used in a negative sentences, it often translates as “even.”
22. その理由も知らないよ。
I don’t even know the reason.
23. 映画館にも行きません。レンタルもしません。
I also don’t go to the movies. I don’t even rent (them).
24. 今も変わらないもの
Something that won’t change even now
- Usually, the particle も is not used after the particle wo を; however, you will see the combination をも in contexts such as older literature but also when the speaker is trying to make a point more emphatically, often in an attempt to sound more sophisticated – ex.
シェルガスは空気をも悪化させるものだ。
Shell gas is something that even worsens the air. ↩︎