また - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

also・as well, moreover・again, additionally

Structure

  • また + Phrase

View on Bunpro

#2
  • Why does また mean moreover in “また、彼はチョコを買ってくれた。” while it means again in all the other examples? Is it the comma/pause?
  • In “また同じことが起きたから、どんどんイライラしてきた。”, shouldn’t 起きた be 起こりた?
2 Likes
#3

Hey and sorry for the late answer! @max99x

Depending on the context, また can mean both:

  1. repetition of things (again)
    母「おばさんとキーちゃんが来るから部屋を片けておいて。」
    逆らう子供「また？先週来たけど。」
    Mother: "Aunt and Ki-chan are coming, so clean your room (in advance).
    Rebellious child: “Again? They came last week…”

  2. joining things (moreover, also)
    このスマホは面面(don’t confuse with 面々！)がいい。また、いい写真を撮れる。
    This smartphone has good screen. Moreover, it can make good photos.

Both 起きた and 起こった work.

また同じことが起きたから、どんどんイライラしてきた。
また同じことが起こったから、どんどんイライラしてきた。

You can also change どんどん to ますます without changing meaning.
起きる is simply more versailte, meaning both “to happen” and “to wake up”, while 起こる means only “to happen”.

I hope it helps!
Cheers!

5 Likes
#4

In the case of 「このスマホは面面がいい。また、いい写真を撮れる。」 It’s pretty obvious that また doesn’t mean “again”, but in the case of the 「また、彼はチョコを買ってくれた。」, “again” feels like the more natural interpretation to me as a non-native learner.

Without context, is there any way to discern that in「また、彼はチョコを買ってくれた。」, the 「また」 more likely means or implies moreover as opposed to again? (as mentioned, maybe the pause/comma?) Or would the standalone sentence without context be ambiguous to native readers/listeners too?

#5

Would like to know this as well. When I read the sentence back, there is no way I would assume また is supposed to mean “moreover” here. It would be totally plausible in my opinion to assume that “he” gave the speaker chocolate again. Maybe this is said by a girl on who “he” has a crush on and she is annoyed by receiving the chocolate? Never know without context. :slight_smile:

Is it possible to exclude a single sentence from a grammar point? Since there is only one example for また being interpreted as “moreover”, I would rather exclude this single sentence.

#6

Hey @tai @Shinzo !

As a native speaker, I assumed that this sentence was using the ‘moreover’ translation instead of the ‘again’ because of the comma. The pause between また and 彼 changes the nuance from ‘again’ to ‘moreover/additionally’ and gives the sentence a different nuance. It is safe to assume that if a comma is used after また, it means ‘moreover’.

I hope that answers your question!

3 Likes