729 - も~し、~も

JLPT N4: も~し、~も (both ~ and ~)

is a particle used to say "too" or "also," yeah?


A:
アメリカではチーズは安いですか?
アメリカ で は チーズ は やすい です か?
Is cheese cheap in the U.S.?
Literally: “America + で + は + cheese + は + cheap + です + か?”


B:
安いですよ。ピザ安いです。
やすい です よ。 ピザ も やすい です。
Yes, it is. Pizza is cheap, too.
Literally: “cheap + です + よ. + pizza + も + cheap + です.”




We've also seen that し can be used to list the qualities of something: [NDL #344] - JLPT N4: し (and, besides).

In that lesson, for example, we saw this exchange:


A:
キムさんはどうして日本の食べ物が好きなんですか?
キムさん は どうして にほん の たべもの が すき なんです か?
Kim-san, why do you like Japanese food?
Literally: "Kim-san, + は + why + Japan + の + food + が + liked + なんです + か?"


B:
そうですね。おいしい、ヘルシーだ…。
そうですね。 おいしい し、 ヘルシー だ し…。
Well, it's delicious, and it's healthy, and...
Literally: "that's so, right? + tasty + し, + healthy + だ + し..."




When we combine the powers of and , we can make sentences that emphasize the complementary nature of some descriptions.

"Complementary nature?"

What I mean is that we can emphasize that multiple descriptions of a similar nature apply to a given topic. For example, let's say we're talking about Portugal. I want to emphasize that (1) the weather is nice there and (2) the food is good:

"The weather in Portugal is nice, and the food is good, too."

NOUN #1 = weather = 天気(てんき
Quality #1 = nice; good = いい
NOUN #2 = food = ご飯(ごはん
Quality #2 = tasty; delicious = おいしい


ポルトガルは天気いいご飯おいしいです。
ポルトガル は てんき も いい し、 ごはん も おいしい です。
The weather in Portugal is nice, and the food is good, too.
Literally: “Portugal + は + weather + も + good + し, + food + も + tasty + です.”


It's a bit difficult to convey the nuance of「も~し、も」in our translation, but note that I didn't translate the sentence above as simply "Portugal has nice food and good weather," since that seems to ignore the way that「も~し、も」somewhat emphasizes that there are multiple good things about Portugal.

You might also be wondering why I highlighted Quality #1 but not Quality #2. The reason is that the word or phrase coming in between and in our「も~し、も」construction will always be in Plain Form, but that's not necessarily the case for Quality #2 (e.g. we have「おいしいです」in the above sentence, which is not in plain form).

So the format is:

NOUNPlain Form、+ NOUN


Another example:


ピザ食べたいパスタ食べたい。
ピザ も たべたい し、 パスタ も たべたい。
I want to eat pizza, and I want to eat pasta, too.
Literally: “pizza + も + want to eat + し, + pasta + も + want to eat.”


Note that we never say はも, がも, or をも.

The particle も will always "eat" は, が, and を.

はも → も
がも → も
をも → も

This is not the case for any other particles, however. For example:

でも → でも
にも → にも

An example:


このことは友達にも言っていない家族にも言っていません。
この こと は ともだち に も いっていない し、 かぞく に も いっていません。
I haven’t told my friends (about) this, and I haven’t told my family, either.
Literally: “this + thing + は + friends + に + も + haven’t said (=am not saying) + し, + family + に + も + haven’t said (=am not saying).”




Last of all, note that we don't necessarily need to include "NOUN " all the time:


僕の彼女は優しいお金持ちだいいです。
ぼく の かのじょ は やさしい し、 おかねもち だ し、 あたま も いい です。
My girlfriend is kind, and rich, and smart, too.
Literally: “I + の + girlfriend + は + kind / gentle + し, + rich + だ + し, + also smart (=head + も + good) + です.”


Isn't this the same grammar we saw in the other N4 lesson on ?

Yeah, I think it is. There is some overlap here.

By the way, I had trouble translating this sentence. Normally I would avoid saying "and" twice in an English sentence like this, but I wanted to add the extra bit of emphasis that we get with ~し constructions.

After all, the Japanese is not saying:


僕の彼女は優しくて、お金持ちで、頭がいいです。
ぼく の かのじょ は やさしくて、 おかねもち で、 あたま が いい です。
My girlfriend is kind, rich, and smart.
Literally: “I + の + girlfriend + は + kind / gentle (and), + rich (and), + smart (=head + が + good) + です.”


The speaker is not putting much feeling into this sentence. There is little nuance of him thinking that his girlfriend is pretty amazing for having all of these qualities, which is what could be felt with the version using ~し.

Anyway, that's all for this one.




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