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What is the exact sentiment expressed by も in this sentence as opposed to が?

日本ではクモを見ると良いことがあると言う人もいますよ

It's a sentence in response to someone saying "I saw a spider in my room, I was scared".

NibblyPig
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2 Answers2

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も is used instead of が to add the meaning of "even" or "also." See for comparison the following examples:

日本ではクモを見ると良いことがあると言う人がいますよ

In Japan, there are people who say that seeing a spider is a good thing.

日本ではクモを見ると良いことがあると言う人もいますよ

In Japan, there are also people who say that seeing a spider is a good thing.

Depending on context, one can also translate も as "even," as Istraci does:

In Japan, there are even people who say that seeing a spider is a good thing.

So も introduces an element of comparison, implying that there are people who think that seeing a spider may be a good thing, as well as those who think that it is a bad thing. In natural colloquial English, perhaps one could drop the "even" or "also," as these seem somewhat stilted in the context of a conversation, and introduce a word like "well" instead:

部屋でクモを見て、怖かった！

日本ではクモを見ると良いことがあると言う人もいますよ。

I got scared because I saw a spider in my room!

Well, in Japan there are people who say that seeing a spider is a good thing.

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yadokari
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    I am not sure if it is more correct to translate this sentence in the following way: "There are also/even people who say that seeing a spider in Japan is a good thing. " Any opinions? – yadokari Oct 23 '12 at 16:31
  • Well, I think it's a matter of nuance, but yeah I think it can be appropriate. Also it probably makes a bit more sense with the surrounding sentences. – silvermaple Oct 23 '12 at 16:34
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    @yadokari I don't think any native speaker would understand 日本では to be the place of action of seeing a spider. If there was no は, then yeah, of course. But with the は it can only refer to the place where people who say (such and such) are. But I really like that last translation in your answer! Very natural. – By137 Oct 23 '12 at 16:55
  • @ By137. that was my instinct as well. thank you. – yadokari Oct 23 '12 at 17:01
  • alternate translations:怖かった！部屋でクモを見たから。/ 部屋でクモを見たから、怖かった！ – yadokari Oct 23 '12 at 17:38
  • Given the textbook style of the conversation, I would have to choose 部屋でクモを見たから怖かった. In reality I have a hard time imagining that sentence being spoken by a native speaker though. – By137 Oct 23 '12 at 17:41
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    Yadokari, regardless of what @By137 says, the sentence *can* have your alternate meaning, at least if you allow for confusing lack of punctuation. There is nothing wrong with 日本ではクモを見ると良いことがある、と言う人もいますよ, bringing 日本では into the quotation. I agree with By137, though, that the most natural parse of the sentence is 日本では、クモを見ると良いことがあると言う人もいますよ – dainichi Oct 24 '12 at 23:46
  • @dainichi Are you referring to the emphatic use of は? As in "Seeing a spider in Japan (as opposed to other places) is a good thing"? Just curious because when I said "can only refer to...", I didn't mean in an absolute sense, but in real life conversations. The cultural background to this example is that in Japan, spiders are not considered bad. And it is based on this common understanding that native speakers would comprehend the sentence. People don't forget all their life experiences with each new conversation, and understanding that is hugely important when learning a second language. – By137 Oct 26 '12 at 11:53
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    Yes @By137, I mean "as opposed to other places". We're not disagreeing about what the sentence is *likely* to mean. I just didn't want yadokari to think that having は under the quotation is not grammatically valid. – dainichi Oct 27 '12 at 13:37
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    But actually, I realize I was wrong too, since having the は under the quotation would mean "There are also/even people who say that [seeing a spider is a good thing in Japan]." which is slightly different from yadokari's translation. – dainichi Oct 27 '12 at 13:44
  • `In natural colloquial English, perhaps one could drop the "even" or "also... Well, in Japan there are people who say that seeing a spider is a good thing. " ` -- 「と言う人もいます。」→ "Some (people) say~~" でよくね？ – Chocolate May 22 '18 at 02:23
  • `部屋でクモを見て、怖かった！` -> 普通は「見た」じゃなくて「(部屋に)クモ**が出た** 」「ゴキブリが出た」etc. って言うと思いますが・・。 – Chocolate May 22 '18 at 02:49
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It's saying "There are even people who say..." Since it's not really the norm to think that spiders are a good thing, it's emphasizing that there are some who do think so. が would work fine as well, but the も gives it the emphasis that even though this thing is unexpected or in the minority, there are some people who take that side.

istrasci
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