--- In [email protected], "randhir_nag"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Is one just a formal way of using the other - they both seem to
> mean 'even though' or 'no matter'.>
Yes, they do mean the same thing, more or less. (Although, "no ni"
is often used to express the idea of "even though".) However, "to
shite mo" -- simply because of the way it's structured -- means more
like "assuming that X happens", rather than merely "even if".
I would suggest learning how individual particles such
as "wa", "ga", and "to" are used in Japanese. From my experience
most Japanese particles tend to be multipurpose, so it pays to learn
how they work when used on their own before tackling their use in
conjunction with other particles. For example, "to" used after a
verbal clause usually means "if", whereas the same particle used
between two nouns or noun clauses means "and", specifically
indicating that there are no other nouns included in the sentence;
when saying something like "things such as cigarettes and
cigars", "ya" is used in place of "to" within a Japanese sentence.
Personally, I am still learning how groups of particles are used in
a sentence, so I can empathize with your situation. Something like
Kakuko Shoji's "Japanese Core Words and Phrases" would be helpful.
Very good book for knowing phrases that are seldom found in a
dictionary.
Once your proficiency in grammar has increased to an advanced level,
a book such as Nobuo & Carol Akiyama's "Japanese idioms" would be
convenient. Japanese, like many other languages, has idiomatic
expressions that do not lend themselves well to translation and,
although several idioms have become obsolete in major Japanese
cities, it would not be uncommon to hear such idioms on conversation
among townsfolk and members of the previous generation of Japanese.
Of course you need not worry about that now, but that is just to let
you know how much one must learn before he can consider himself a
fluent Japanese speaker.
- Arian I.
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