We've already learned も…も in affirmative sentences for "both... and..." (田中さんも鈴木さんも日本人です). But も…も has another essential use: pair it with a negative verb to express "neither... nor."
Basic Pattern
A も B も 〜ません。 → Neither A nor B... / I don't... A or B.
Here's an example:
私は肉も魚も食べません。 → I eat neither meat nor fish.
If you said this as two separate sentences, it would be:
- 私は肉を食べません。 I don't eat meat.
- 私は魚を食べません。 I don't eat fish.
The も…も version is more concise — and it emphasizes that both are negated.
More Examples
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| コーヒーも紅茶も飲みません。 | I drink neither coffee nor tea. |
| 昨日も今日も勉強しませんでした。 | I didn't study yesterday or today. |
| 父も母も来ませんでした。 | Neither my father nor my mother came. |
| テレビも映画も見ません。 | I watch neither TV nor movies. |
Note: も Replaces を and が
You may have noticed: the original 肉を食べません became 肉も食べません — を was replaced by も. You cannot write "肉をも."
Similarly, が gets replaced by も:
- 父が来ません → 父も来ません
- コーヒーがありません → コーヒーもありません
However, に, で, へ and other particles can stack with も:
東京にも大阪にも行きませんでした。 → I went to neither Tokyo nor Osaka.
| Original particle | Combined with も |
|---|---|
| を → も (replaced) | 肉も食べません |
| が → も (replaced) | 父も来ません |
| に → にも (stacked) | 東京にも行きません |
| で → でも (stacked) | 教室でも勉強しません |
Comparison with Affirmative も…も
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A も B も + affirmative | Both A and B... | 田中さんも鈴木さんも日本人です。 |
| A も B も + negative | Neither A nor B... | 肉も魚も食べません。 |
The structure is identical — the meaning depends entirely on whether the verb is affirmative or negative.
Three or More Items
も isn't limited to two items:
肉も魚も野菜も食べません。 → I eat neither meat, fish, nor vegetables.
Add も after each item, and end with a single negative.
Conversation Practice
A: 肉を食べますか。 → Do you eat meat?
B: 肉も魚も食べません。 → I eat neither meat nor fish.
A: じゃ、野菜を食べますか。 → Then do you eat vegetables?
B: はい、野菜は食べます。 → Yes, I do eat vegetables.
Notice B's final reply uses は — the topic particle here carries a contrastive nuance: "Vegetables, (unlike meat and fish,) I do eat."
Summary
- A も B も 〜ません = neither A nor B
- も replaces を and が; stacks with に, で, へ
- Affirmative: も…も = "both"; negative: も…も = "neither"
- Works with three or more items — just add も after each
Practice Quiz
Q1. How do you say "I drink neither coffee nor tea" in Japanese? (tea = お茶)
Show Answer
コーヒーもお茶も飲みません。
"Neither... nor" → も…も + negative. を is replaced by も.
Q2. What does 「東京にも大阪にも行きませんでした。」 mean?
Show Answer
I went to neither Tokyo nor Osaka.
に stacks with も to form にも. Both destinations negated → も…も + past negative.
Q3. Fill in the blanks: 「父＿母＿来ませんでした。」
Show Answer
父も母も来ませんでした。
Originally 「父が来ません」「母が来ません」 — が is replaced by も.