もParticle (Even / As many as) Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Particle
Essential Meaning: Even / As many as / As much as / As long as
Construction:
- Noun + も
- E.g. 漢字も [Even kanji]
- Quantifier + も
- E.g. 百人も [As many as 100 people]
- Singular Counter + も
- E.g. 一人も [Not even one person]
- WH-Question Word + も
- E.g. だれも [Nobody]
- E.g. なにも [Nothing]
- Verb ます-Form + もしない
- E.g. 食べもしない [X Doesn’t even eat X]
Notes:
- も (Even / As many as) is an emphatic extension of も (Too / As Well). The precise meaning of も (Even / As many as) depends on the preceding parts of speech.
- With plural quantifiers (e.g. 五十 [Fifty], 百人 [100 people], 3本 [3 long items], etc.), Xも means “As many as X” (e.g. “I have as many as 1000 friends“). The implication is that the quantity is high, significant, praiseworthy, et cetera.
- E.g. 私は漢字を八千も知っている。[I know as many as 8000 kanji.]
- With singular quantifiers (e.g. 一人 [One person], 一つ [One thing]), Xも means “Even one X“. It is typically used with a negative verb to mean “Not even one X” (e.g. “I don’t even have a single friend“).
- E.g. そのパーティーには女の子は一人も来なかった。[Not a single girl came to that party.]
- With a Noun phrase, Xも simply means “Even X“. The implication is that the agent in the sentence can do other things, and they can do X as well. The fact that they can do X is noteworthy or surprising.
- E.g. グレッグさんはこんな難しい漢字も読める。[Greg can read even a difficult kanji such as this one.]
- With a Verb ます-Form, Xも is always followed by a negative form of する. The meaning is that the agent “Doesn’t even do X” (e.g. “I don’t even drink tea“).
- E.g. ナンシーは私の話を聞きもしない。[Nancy doesn’t even listen to what I say.]
- Lastly, there are various idiomatic forms of WH-Question Words + も to remember.
- E.g. いつも [Always]
- E.g. どこも [Anywhere]
- E.g. どちらも [Both / Neither]
- E.g. どうも [Somehow]
- E.g. なにも (only w/ negative verb) [Nothing]
- E.g. だれも (only w/ negative verb) [Nobody]
- With plural quantifiers (e.g. 五十 [Fifty], 百人 [100 people], 3本 [3 long items], etc.), Xも means “As many as X” (e.g. “I have as many as 1000 friends“). The implication is that the quantity is high, significant, praiseworthy, et cetera.
Example Sentences:
ハリスさんはこんなやさしい漢字も読めない。[Mr. Harris can’t even read easy Kanji.]
私は漢字を八千も知っている。[I know as many as 8000 kanji.]
私は漢字を一つも知らない。[I don’t even know a single kanji.]
私は何も食べなかった。[I didn’t eat anything.]
ナンシーは私の話を聞きもしない。[Nancy doesn’t even listen to me.]
春男は一年生のたし算もまともにできない。[Haruo can’t even do first grade addition correctly.]
今日は車が十台も売れた。[Today I sold as many as 10 cars.]
だれもそのことをしりません。[Nobody knows about that.]
私は木村さんがくれた本をまだ見もしていない。[I haven’t even looked at the book that Mr. Kimura lent me yet.]
WILD Examples:
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