Can ~ても mean 'also'?


ても is て + も, も being an intensive particle. Therefore, the choice of
translation into English may vary. For example, if I were to say that a reply
doesn't need to be made today nor tomorrow, I could say this:

> A) 返事は今日でなくていいです。明日で **なくても** いいです。
>

>> You don't have to make a reply today. You **also** don't have to make it
tomorrow.

In this case, なくても means _also_ rather than _even if_. Also note that, in the
first sentence, I used なくて instead of なくても, just so I can give emphasis solely
to the next one, but I could've added it too without changing the English
translation. However, it would have been more emphatic.

**A** may sound wordy as we can say this:

> B) 返事は今日でも明日でもなくて(も)いいです
>

>> You don't have to make a reply today nor tomorrow.

Is my understanding correct? I can't find an example sentence with ても meaning
_also_ in my books, but I don't see how that would not be possible.




Yes, this ても can work like a regular "also". The key element to understand is
that the も in ても is there to create an **inclusive contrast** , so in a broad
sense, it's always "also". In your context, the contrast can be made between
today and tomorrow, so the difference between "even if" and "also" is blurred
and the English "also" is easier to see:

> [...]. 明日でなくてもいいです
>
> [...]. [Even] if you don't reply tomorrow, it's [also] fine.

If we take a situation where you can't make an explicit contrast, which is the
majority of cases, the contrast is now between that situation happening or
not:

> [羊を数えても寝られない](https://maggiesensei.com/2015/06/22/how-to-
> use-%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82-temo/)
>
> [Even] if I count sheep, I [also] can't sleep.

Here we're making a contrast for the situation of counting sheep. It doesn't
matter if you count sheep or not, you can't sleep. In other words, if you
count sheep, you _also_ can't sleep (relative to when you don't count them).
You can see how that contrasting "also" turns into an "even if", "no matter",
"whatever", etc.




Yes, this ても can work like a regular "also". The key element to understand is
that the も in ても is there to create an **inclusive contrast** , so in a broad
sense, it's always "also". In your context, the contrast can be made between
today and tomorrow, so the difference between "even if" and "also" is blurred
and the English "also" is easier to see:

> [...]. 明日でなくてもいいです
>
> [...]. [Even] if you don't reply tomorrow, it's [also] fine.

If we take a situation where you can't make an explicit contrast, which is the
majority of cases, the contrast is now between that situation happening or
not:

> [羊を数えても寝られない](https://maggiesensei.com/2015/06/22/how-to-
> use-%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82-temo/)
>
> [Even] if I count sheep, I [also] can't sleep.

Here we're making a contrast for the situation of counting sheep. It doesn't
matter if you count sheep or not, you can't sleep. In other words, if you
count sheep, you _also_ can't sleep (relative to when you don't count them).
You can see how that contrasting "also" turns into an "even if", "no matter",
"whatever", etc.

