Japanese from zero · N1 Lesson 35
The rainy season
ともすれば ・ 〜にかこつけて ・ 〜とも〜とも ・ さも
In this lesson, you will learn to say you are apt to slip into something with ともすれば, to say someone used a thing as an excuse with 〜にかこつけて, to say you cannot tell which of two things is true with 〜とも〜とも, and to say someone acts as if something were so with さも. It is June, the rainy season, and Lisa has been keeping to herself.
By the end you will be able to say
疲れて いると、ともすれば 弱気に なる。When I'm tired, I tend to lose heart.
雨にかこつけて、晩ご飯を 休んで しまった。I used the rain as an excuse to skip dinner.
彼は さも 何でも ない ように 笑った。He laughed as if it were nothing at all.
いいとも 悪いとも 言えない。I can't say whether it's good or bad.
梅雨は ともすれば 憂鬱に なるから、自分を 労ろう。The rainy season easily gets you down, so let's be kind to ourselves.
The grammar in this lesson
- ともすれば — be apt to; tend to — ともすれば begins a statement about a tendency you would rather not have.
- 〜にかこつけて — using ... as an excuse — Noun + にかこつけて says something real was used as an excuse, not the true reason.
- 〜とも〜とも — (can't say) whether A or B — Two opposites, each + とも, then a negative like 言えない: no clear answer is given.
- さも — as if (it really were so) — さも before 〜ように or 〜そうに says someone acts as if something were true.