Lesson 80
Ta Form + to shite mo
This combination is closely related to the Ta Form + to shitara covered in the last lesson, but it adds a light warning or something extra to consider to the supposed idea. In English it would probably go something like "even IF (something were to happen), you must remember that (something else)...." Let's look at some examples to help make it clear:
- Ashita Bob ga kita to shite mo, watashi wa asatte made au koto ga dekimasen. (Even if Bob were to come tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to see him until the day after tomorrow.)
- Anata wa supeingo o benkyou shita to shite mo, shigoto de tsukaenai deshou. (Even if you studied Spanish, you probably wouldn't be able to use it in your work.)
- Kenkou shokuhin o takusan tabeta to shite mo, undou shinakereba imi ga nai deshou. (Even if you were to eat lots of health food, it would be meaningless if you didn't exercise.)
As you can see, this combination is created by adding mo to suru in the Te Form. In fact, mo can be added to any verb in the Te Form for that "although" meaning:
- Setsumeisho o yonde mo, kono sofuto ga wakarinikui. (Even if you read the manual, this software is hard to understand.)
- Kare wa ikura tabete mo, ippai ni naranai. (No matter how much he eats, he never gets full.)
Word Check
asatte: the day after tomorrow 1
made: until
au: to meet; to see (someone for an appointment)
supeingo: the Spanish language (supein [Spain] + go [language])
shigoto: a job; one's work
tsukau: to use
kenkou: health
shokuhin: food items; groceries
takusan: many, much; a lot
undou suru: to (get) exercise
imi: a meaning
setsumeisho: an instruction book; a manual (setsumei [explanation] + sho [handbook, document])
sofuto: software (wasei eigo)
wakaru: to understand
-nikui: difficult to (do something) 2
ikura: how much/many
ippai: full
-ni naru: to become (something [noun] or some condition [adjective])
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)
Notes
1. Yes, the Japanese have one convenient word for "the day after tomorrow," just as they have one for "the day before yesterday," ototoi.
2. See Lesson 14.
|
