In this course, we will only see the first use of the particle も. There are other ways to use this particle that we will see much later.
The particle も makes it possible to introduce into a sentence something identical to a thing previously stated. It can be translated as « also », « both », « too ».
I’ll give you an example :
虎は肉食動物だ。
とらはにくしょくどうぶつだ。
The tiger is a carnivorous animal.
豹も肉食動物だ。
ひょうもにくしょくどうぶつだ。
The leopard is also a carnivorous animal.
You will notice that the particle も can replace the particles は, が and を.
This particle も can also be used after several words in the same sentence to mark their equality.
Observe the sentence below :
虎も豹も肉食動物だ。
とらもひょうもにくしょくどうぶつだ。
The tiger and the leopard are both carnivorous animals.
Here we have two equivalences. The tiger AND the leopard are BOTH carnivorous animals so we use the particle も.
Now that this first point has been understood, we will see the use of the particle in a more complex sentence with lots of complements. We will see how the particle can sometimes replace particles or stand in front of other particles.
Observe the sentence below :
日本では、子供達が遊び時間に友達と毎日漫画を読む。
にほんでは、こどもたちがあそびじかんにともだちとまいにちまんがをよむ。
In Japan, children read manga every day with friends at recess time.
If I mean :
In France too, children read manga every day with friends at recess time.
The particle は is replaced by the particle も.
フランスでも、子供達が遊び時間に友達と毎日漫画を読む。
フランスでも、こどもたちがあそびじかんにともだちとまいにちまんがをよむ。
In France too, children read manga every day with friends at recess time.
If I mean :
In Japan, adults also read manga every day with friends at recess time.
The particle が is replaced by the particle も.
日本では、大人も遊び時間に友達と毎日漫画を読む。
にほんでは、おとなもあそびじかんにともだちとまいにちまんがをよむ。
In Japan, adults also read manga every day with friends at recess time.
If I mean :
In Japan, children read manga every day with friends also after school.
We add the particle も after the particle に.
日本では、子供達が放課後にも友達と毎日漫画を読む。
にほんでは、こどもたちがほうかごにもともだちとまいにちまんがをよむ。
In Japan, children read manga every day with friends also after school.
If I mean :
In Japan, children read manga every day also with friends at recess time.
We add the particle も after the particle に.
日本では、子供達が遊び時間に友達とも毎日漫画を読む。
にほんでは、こどもたちがあそびじかんにともだちともまいにちまんがをよむ。
In Japan, children read manga every day also with friends at recess time.
If I mean :
In Japan, children also read books every day with friends at recess time.
The particle も is replaced by the particle を.
日本では、子供達が遊び時間に友達と毎日本も読む。
にほんでは、こどもたちがあそびじかんにともだちとまいにちほんもよむ。
In Japan, children also read books every day with friends at recess time.
Also know that the particle も :
– Is placed after the particle へも
– Is placed after the particle からも
– Is placed after the particle までも
Concerning the particle を, it can EITHER be replaced by the particle も, OR the particle も can be placed after the particle を when we want to insist on the DOC of the sentence.
Of course, we can have several particle も for several equivalences in the same sentence. Below, I give you as an example a short discussion so that you understand the idea :
– In Japan, children watch Japanese anime.
– In France too, children watch Japanese anime.
– In Japan, adults also watch Japanese anime.
– In France too, adults also watch Japanese anime.
You may notice that we have the words « too » and « also » in the last sentence. In Japanese, we will translate the sentence as :
フランスでも大人もアニメを見る。
フランスでもおとなアニメをみる。
In France too, adults also watch Japanese anime.
As you can see, it is fine to have the particle も twice in the same sentence, but we could also have the same situation for a slightly different English translation like the one we saw at the very beginning of this course. Observe the sentence below :
牛も馬も草食動物だ。
うしもうまもそうしょくどうぶつだ。
The cow and the horse are both herbivorous animals.
Here we have two equivalences. The cow AND the horse are BOTH herbivorous animals so we use the particle も.
This course is now over, thank you for reading it. It was a pretty easy course, nothing hard to understand I would say, and above all we just saw our twelfth particle today. There are still quite a few to see so hang in there, don’t give up and I guarantee that all your efforts will pay off.
As usual, you have exercises to do, theme and version including the use of the particle も.
With that, I’ll leave you with a little list of vocabulary words below. There might be words you already know and it will do you good to review them.
Have a good day everyone and do your homework properly.
虎 .
とら . the tiger
豹 .
ヒョウ . the leopard
肉食動物 .
にくショクドウブツ . the carnivorous animal
Introduction