This use of も[mo] often is used to express surprise that something didn’t happen, and often appears in sentences where the parallel you’re drawing isn’t entirely clear. You can think of this use of も as more like the English word “even.” Check out our post on も as an emphasis marker to see some similar uses of も!
Japanese Articles
How to use も (mo) with verbs and adjectives in Japanese?
By: Mayumi Ito Tue Jun 09 2026
JapaneseParticles
The Japanese も[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 (e.g. "He left too") or between (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 , , , 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[mo] to highlight a similarity between two actions (). 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[mo] most commonly marks , 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[no] or こと[koto] after the dictionary form of the verb.
見るの / 見ること
miru no / miru koto
(the act of) watching
So the formula for using も with a verb you’ve turned into a noun looks like this:
Verb
dictionary form
Nominalizers
の[no] or こと[koto]
も[mo]
テニスは見るのもするのも好きだ。
Tenisu wa miru no mo suru no mo suki da.
As for tennis, I like both watching it and playing it.
それに、子どもたちに教えることも好きだ。
Soreni, kodomotachi ni oshieru koto mo suki da.
Besides, I like teaching (tennis) to children too.
Method 2: If an action didn’t happen
This second method of using も[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
も[mo]
する[suru](do)
negated
その人はあやまりもしなかった。
Sono hito wa ayamari mo shinakatta.
The person didn’t even apologize.
その人はあやまりもふりむきもしなかった。
Sono hito wa ayamari mo furimuki mo shinakatta.
The person neither apologized nor turned his head.
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[masu] from the polite form of a verb. Here are a couple of examples:
Dictionary formPolite formmasu- stemMeaningあやまる
ayamaru
あやまります
ayamarimasu
あやまり
ayamari
apologize
ふりむく
furimuku
ふりむきます
furimukimasu
ふりむき
furimuki
turn one’s head
Negative form of the verb する[suru](do)
There are several ways to negate this verb, including…
Negative form of するMeaningしない[shinai]do not, does not
しません[shimasen]しなかった[shinakatta]did not
しませんでした[shimasendeshita]
Important
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[mo] is in its 〜ている[-te iru] or 〜てみる[-te miru] form.
Tip
Not familiar with these two forms? Here’s a very quick summary:
The 〜ている[-te iru] form is most often used to express ongoing actions or states, like "is [verb]-ing" or "was [verb]-ing".
The 〜てみる[-te miru] form is used to express attempted actions, like “try to [verb]".
All you have to do is add も directly after the te-form, and before the negative form of いる[iru] or 見る[miru].
Verb
‘te’-form
も[mo]
いる[iru] or みる[miru]
negative
その手紙はまだ封を切ってもいない。
Sono tegami wa mada fū o kitte mo inai.
I haven’t even opened the letter yet.
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[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[mo], you’ll replace the ending 〜い[i] that usually follows the adjective with 〜く[ku].
Without も | With も |
|---|---|
おいしい oishii tasty | おいしくも oishiku mo tasty too |
暑い atsui hot | 暑くも atsuku mo hot too |
Usually you’ll use these in a sentence that uses a “to be” verb, like ある[aru](is) or ない[nai](isn't). For example:
adjectiveも [mo]"to be"
和菓子は見た目が美しい。それにおいしくもある。
Wagashi wa mita me ga utsukushii. Soreni oishiku mo aru.
Traditional Japanese sweets have a beautiful appearance. And they are tasty too.
今日は暑くも寒くもない。
Kyō wa atsuku mo samuku mo nai.
It isn’t either hot or cold today.
Tip
Using an adjective + も[mo] in a positive sentence like the first example sounds formal. In casual conversation, we usually don’t include も:
それにおいしい
soreni oishii
And they’re tasty (too).
With na-adjectives
When using a na-adjective before も[mo], add the ending で[de] to the adjective before も.
Without も | With も |
|---|---|
たいへん taihen tough | たいへんでも taihen de mo tough too |
ひま hima at leisure, free | ひまでも hima de mo free too |
Again, these adjectives are often used with a form of “to be.”
adjectiveも [mo]"to be"
新しい仕事はおもしろいが、たいへんでもある。
Atarashii shigoto wa omoshiroi ga, taihende mo aru.
My new job is interesting, but it's tough too.
今日はそれほど忙しくないが、ひまでもない。
Kyō wa sore hodo isogashiku nai ga, himade mo nai.
I’m not so busy today, but I'm not at leisure either.
Tip
Sometimes, when も[mo] is added to an can be added to an adjective, it doesn’t mean “also” but instead helps form a set phrase that we would translate using an adverb instead.
悲しい → 悲しくも
kanashii → kanashiku mo
sad → sadly
Check out our post on other uses of も to learn more about this!
How to mark adverbs with も (mo)?
The particle も[mo] can also be used to mark . We most often use も this way to emphasize an adverb as surprising.
adverbも [mo]
この森は昔から少しも変わっていない。
Kono mura wa mukashi kara sukoshi mo kawatte inai.
This forest hasn’t changed even a little since long ago.
もしも翼があったら、自由に空を飛べるのになあ。
Moshi mo tsubasa ga attara, jiyū ni sora o toberu no ni nā.
If I had wings, I could freely fly the sky.
Notice that you can add も[mo] directly to the adverb, with no other changes!
少し → 少しも
sukoshi → sukoshi mo
a little, a few → (not) even a little/few
すぐに → すぐにも
suguni → suguni mo
immediately → as soon as possible, right away
もし → もしも
moshi → moshi mo
if → if (emphatic)
Important
Time expressions such as 今日[kyō](today) or 朝[asa] often work as adverbs. However, they are generally considered nouns and are set off by も and other particles like nouns are.
今日は朝からいい天気だった。明日も晴れるといいなあ。
Kyō wa asa kara ii tenki datta. Ashita mo hareru to ii nā.
The weather has been great all day today. I hope it’ll be sunny tomorrow too.
How to use も (mo) with predicate nouns?
We can also use も[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
で[de]
も[mo]
Form of “be”
ケントさんは新聞記者だ。そして、スーパーヒーローでもある。
Kento san wa shinbun kisha da. Soshite, sūpāhiirō de mo aru.
Mr. Kent is a newspaper reporter. And he is also a superhero.
アンドロイドは人間ではないが、ただの機械でもない。
Andoroido wa ningen de wa nai ga, tada no kikai de mo nai.
Androids are not humans, but they are not mere machines either.
To sum up
In this post, we’ve gone over how to use the particle も[mo] with a variety of non-noun phrase types. Here are the main things to remember:
Use も[mo] to draw a parallel between two actions (verbs), you’ll usually nominalize the verb with の[no] or こと[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[i] ending of i-adjectives becomes 〜く[ku]
na-adjectives acquire the ending で[de] before も
Adverbs don’t require any ending changes before も.
When using a predicate noun, add で[de] before も.
Ready to practice? Check out these も with verbs and adjectives exercises! Happy learning!
Ready to learn more about how to use も[mo] in Japanese? Check out this summary of all the uses of も or read more in one of these posts:
Introduction to も → What the most basic uses of も?
も with noun phrases → When to use も alongside other noun-marking particles?
も for emphasis and emotion → What are some more abstract uses of も?
も with numbers → How can you use も to indicate your thoughts and feelings about a quantity?
