The Japanese particle も transcribed mo is used to show a parallel, much like the English words “also” or “too.” It generally follows the word or phrase you want to mark as "similar" to something else, and we see this same pattern when it's used to show parallels between verbs (e.g. "He left too") or between adjectives (e.g. "She's tired too")
In our introduction to も we covered the basics of how to use this particle, and focused on how to use も with nouns. In this post, we’ll talk about when and how you can use も to highlight similarities between actions and descriptions. In particular we’ll look at using も with verbs, adjectives, adverbs, as well as predicate nouns (e.g. “...is a [noun]”). Let’s get started!
How to use も (mo) to mark verbs?
In Japanese, we can use も transcribed mo to highlight a similarity between two actions (verbs). You might do this to translate a sentence like “At the party we’ll eat and we’ll also sing karaoke.” As always, this particle will follow the element it highlights as similar, but there are some other rules to learn as well. Let’s have a look at three ways in which you can use the particle も to set off verbs.
Method 1: Turn the verb into a noun
The particle も transcribed mo most commonly marks nouns, not verbs. So one way you can use も with a verb is to turn the verb into a noun! The most common way to nominalize a Japanese verb is to add the particles の transcribed no or こと transcribed koto after the dictionary form of the verb.
So the formula for using も with a verb you’ve turned into a noun looks like this:
Verb
dictionary form
Nominalizers
の transcribed no or こと transcribed koto
Method 2: If an action didn’t happen
This second method of using も transcribed mo with a verb works when you want to emphasize your amazement that an action didn’t happen, as in “...and I didn’t sleep either!” or “...and I didn’t even sleep!” Here’s the formula to follow:
Verb
-masu stem
negated
Let’s look a little more closely at these parts:
Stem from the ‘masu’-form
The masu- stem of a verb is what is left out when we delete the ending ます transcribed masu from the polite form of a verb. Here are a couple of examples:
Dictionary form Polite form masu- stem Meaning あやまるTranscription: ayamaruあやまりますTranscription: ayamarimasuあやまりTranscription: ayamariapologize
ふりむくTranscription: furimukuふりむきますTranscription: furimukimasuふりむきTranscription: furimukiturn one’s head
Negative form of the verb する transcribed surumeaning do
There are several ways to negate this verb, including…
Negative form of する Meaning しない transcribed shinaido not, does not
しません transcribed shimasenしなかった transcribed shinakattadid not
しませんでした transcribed shimasendeshita
Method 3: With a ‘te iru’ or ‘te miru’ form
This method applies to negative sentences, much like method 2. Use this method if the verb you want to mark with も transcribed mo is in its 〜ている transcribed -te iru or 〜てみる transcribed -te miru form.
All you have to do is add も directly after the te-form, and before the negative form of いる transcribed iru or 見る transcribed miru.
Verb
‘te’-form
いる transcribed iru or みる transcribed miru
negative
As we saw with method 2, this can be used as a form of emphasis.
How to use も (mo) to mark adjectives?
In Japanese, we use も transcribed mo after an adjective to mark that it provides a providing parallel or similar description to another adjective. You might use も this way if you wanted to use two adjectives to describe the same noun, as in “Your son is so smart, and he’s polite too!”
Exactly how you do this will depend on the type of adjective you’re using: i-adjectives or na-adjectives. Let’s look at the two main patterns!
With i-adjectives
When you use an i-adjective before も transcribed mo, you’ll replace the ending 〜い transcribed i that usually follows the adjective with 〜く transcribed ku.
| Without も | With も |
|---|---|
おいしい Transcription: oishii Translation: tasty | おいしくも Transcription: oishiku mo Translation: tasty too |
暑い Transcription: atsui Translation: hot | 暑くも Transcription: atsuku mo Translation: hot too |
Usually you’ll use these in a sentence that uses a “to be” verb, like ある transcribed arumeaning is or ない transcribed naimeaning isn't. For example:
With na-adjectives
When using a na-adjective before も transcribed mo, add the ending で transcribed de to the adjective before も.
| Without も | With も |
|---|---|
たいへん Transcription: taihen Translation: tough | たいへんでも Transcription: taihen de mo Translation: tough too |
ひま Transcription: hima Translation: at leisure, free | ひまでも Transcription: hima de mo Translation: free too |
Again, these adjectives are often used with a form of “to be.”
How to mark adverbs with も (mo)?
The particle も transcribed mo can also be used to mark adverbs. We most often use も this way to emphasize an adverb as surprising.
Notice that you can add も transcribed mo directly to the adverb, with no other changes!
How to use も (mo) with predicate nouns?
We can also use も transcribed mo to highlight a noun that acts like the predicate of a sentence, in other words, a noun used in a sentence like “...is a [noun].” To do this, follow the formula below:
Noun
Form of “be”
To sum up
In this post, we’ve gone over how to use the particle も transcribed mo with a variety of non-noun phrase types. Here are the main things to remember:
Use も transcribed mo to draw a parallel between two actions (verbs), you’ll usually nominalize the verb with の transcribed no or こと transcribed koto.
You can also use も to emphasize an action that didn’t happen by putting も after the stem of the miru-form or attaching it to the te-form.
When you use も after an adjective, you’ll need to change the adjective ending:
the 〜い transcribed i ending of i-adjectives becomes 〜く transcribed ku
na-adjectives acquire the ending で transcribed de before も
Adverbs don’t require any ending changes before も.
When using a predicate noun, add で transcribed de before も.
Ready to practice? Check out these も with verbs and adjectives exercises! Happy learning!
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