2014年2月26日水曜日

mo = too, as well, also

senjitsu Kyoto ni ikimashita. 12gatsu ni mo ikimashita ga, Kyoto wa daisuki na machi nanode, nando itte mo tanoshimemasu. 12gatsu no Kyoto ryoko de wa kabuki o mimashita. mata ikutsuka no otera de Nihon no furui bijutsu o miru koto mo mokuteki deshita. konkai wa yujin no kekkonshiki ni shusseki shimashita. kekkonshiki wa jinja de dentotekina yoshiki de okonawareta node, watashi ni tottemo omoshirokatta desu. sono ato no party mo nihon-fu de, hanayme hanamuko wa wafuku, ryori wa kaiseki deshita. soreni, geisha to maiko mo toujou shimashita.

(I went to Kyoto the other day, I went there just a month ago in December, too, but I like this city so much that I can enjoy myself there no matter how many times I have been. I watched a kabuki performance in December, and also seeing old Japanese arts was a purpose of my Kyoto visit. This time I attended my friend’s wedding . This wedding was held at shrine in a traditional way, so it was interesting to me, too. The reception was also Japanese style. The bride and groom dressed in kimono, the food was kaiseki-ryori, and also, a geisha and maiko showed up.)

Nihon ni sundeiru, mata wa kita koto ga aru kata wa shitteiru youni, gendaki Nihon no seikatsu wa wayo-secchu de, futsu wa dentotekina Nihon no style dake de seikatsu shiteiru wake dewa arimasen. sonotame, kono youna Nihon rashisa o taiken dekiru to, Nihonjin demo ureshiku narimasu.
sarani, fuyu no Kyoto wa samui koto de shirarete imasu ga, watashi ga itta hi wa 12do mo atte, samukunakatta tame, kouun deshita.

(If you live in Japan or have visited Japan, you may know that modern Japanese live in a semi-Western style. It is not the case that we live in only traditional Japanese style. Therefore, even Japanese are happy to have a very Japanesey experience.
Moreover, Kyoto in winter is well known for being very cold, but surprisingly it was 12 degrees Celsius when I was there. I was lucky that it was not cold.)

So, today I am going to write about "mo"."mo" indicating addition is equivalent to "too", "as well" and "also".
I think it is not hard to understand its meaning, but it seems that the usage of "mo" in Japanese is a little different from these English words.
In English, they come at the end of the clause or before the main verb, but mo does not. When non-Japanese use mo, it sometimes comes at the end of the clause like "too" and "as well". However, this is not correct.

For your information, it is hard to hear the difference between "mo"(も) and "mou"(もう) , but they are completely different words. The usage rules of "mo" are as follows. We are going to compare English and Japanese.

1. additional noun + "mo"


"watashi wa opera ga suki desu." "watashi mo." ("I like opera."  "“Me too.")
2. "mo" replaces "wa", "ga", and "o". 
John wa Paris ni itta koto ga aru. watashi wa mo itta koto ga aru. (John has been to Paris. I have been to Paris, too.)
*I, in addition to other people (John). 
watashi wa shu itsuka oshieteimasu. yoru no class o mo oshieteimasu. (I teach five days a week. I also teach evening classes.)  
*evening classes, in addition to other things  (afternoon classes) 
3. "mo" does not replace "ni" and "de". They remain and "mo" is added.
watashi wa London ni itta koto ga aru. Paris ni mo itta koto ga aru. (I have been to London. I have been to Paris, too.)
*Paris, in addition to other places (London). 
"Hokkaido ni hikouki de iku no?" "densah de mo ikeru yo."  ("Are you going to Hokkaido by plane?"  "You can go there by train, too.")
*By train, in addition to other vehicles (plane). 
4. When you use "mo", sentences are divided into two. "mo" is in the second one.
kanojo wa France-go to Eigo o hanasu. soreni/soshite Russia-go mo hanasu. (She speaks French and English. In addition, she also speaks Russian.)
5. Adjective + "mo" is not possible.
kare wa wakakute, kakkoyokute, okanemochi mo??? (He is young, good-looking, and also rich.)
kare wa wakakute, kaakoii. soreni/soshite, okanemochi desu. (He is young and good-looking. In addition, he is rich.) 
6. "mo" can be used in a negative sentence.
"watashi wa neko ga suki ja nai." "watashi mo." (“I don’t like cats.”  “Neither do I.”)

These are the basic rules. And, there are expressions applicable to these rules. Within one sentence, "mo" can also be used when similar things are listed. 
kanojo wa France-go mo eigo mo Russia-go mo hanasu. (She speaks French, German, and also Russian.)
kare wa guitar o hiku koto mo, utau koto mo dekiru. (He can play guitar and sing, too.) 
*"hiku" and "utau" are verbs, not nouns. However, attaching "koto" makes them nouns, so they can be used with "mo".
Jim mo Joe mo watashi mo uchi ni kaeranakatta. (Neither Jim nor Joe nor I went home.) 
*A negative sentence with "mo" is possible, too. Moreover, "Nobody went home" would be "dare mo uchi ni kaeranakatta". 
Now I will end with a quiz. I think this post has not been difficult for advanced learners so far. Therefore, please think about how you would translate the following sentences. I think they are not difficult either…
  • It seems a little sweet to me, too.
  • It also seems that he knows everything.
In the Japanese part in the beginning of this post I tried to use "mo" many times. There are several usages of "mo" other than addition. Please look up the other meanings while comparing the English translation.


Heian Shrine