Is it grammatically correct to say 難しいことも、諦めたい時もあります?


Hi this is my first question here, and I checked the database for questions
like mine, but nothing came up.

Would it be grammatically correct to say

> もちろん、難しいことも、諦めたい時もあります。

My intention is to say

> Of course, difficult things and times when I wanted to give up existed too.

This is because I was taught that you could only put similar items in a
category if you were to use Aも、Bもあります such as ～ことも、～こともあります but I was
wondering if I could mix up things of different ”categories”.

I was also contemplating

> もちろん、難しいことも、諦めようと思ってこともあります。

Sorry if any are hideously and grammatically wrong. I am a beginner in the
Japanese language.




The first phrase is grammatically correct. However, as you say the
construction ～も～も sounds more natural if used with two things that are
comparable, even if they don't have exactly the same form. For example, you
could say

> 難しく感じること(orとき)も、｛諦めたい気持ちに/諦めたく｝なること(orとき)もあります。  
>  Of course, there are times when I feel that it's (too) difficult or that I
> want to give up.

where you juxtapose two feelings. (Your original sentences places "things"
next to "times".)

* * *

The second phrase is incorrect for purely grammatical reasons. You can't
modify こと with 思って. The verb has to be in the 連体形 _rentaikei_ form (identical
to the dictionary form); here either 思う or 思っている.

> もちろん、困難なときも、諦めようと思うこともあります。

The above comments about style also apply here. You could also say

> もちろん、「難しい」とか「諦めたい」などと思うこともあります。  
>  Of course, there are times when I just think "this is too difficult" or "I
> want to give up".

