What’s the difference between [v] たとしても and just the plain ても


What’s the difference between [v] たとしても and just the plain ても? Example:

> (1) 説明書を読んでも分かりにくい
>
> (2) 説明書を読んだとしても分かりにくい




The difference between these two hinges on whether or not the action has been
completed at the time the statement was made:

**説明書を読んでも分かりにくい**

This could be taken in one of two ways:

  1. Even if you (I) read the instructions, it **will [still] be** hard to understand.

  2. Even after reading the instructions, it **is [still]** hard to understand.

So with the ～ても form in this sentence, the action (読む) may have already taken
place, or it may be a hypothetical action to take place in the future.

**説明書を読んだとしても分かりにくい**

By contrast, the ～としても pattern always refers to a hypothetical situation which
may or may not take place in the future. As such, the translation "even
supposing you were to [action]" often works well for ～たとしても:

  1. Even supposing you (I) were to read the instructions, it **would [still] be** hard to understand.

Note that while both ～ても and ～たとしても can both express hypothetical cases, ～ても
better matches a "even if … will" pattern, while ～たとしても better matches a "even
supposing … would" pattern in English.




The difference between these two hinges on whether or not the action has been
completed at the time the statement was made:

**説明書を読んでも分かりにくい**

This could be taken in one of two ways:

  1. Even if you (I) read the instructions, it **will [still] be** hard to understand.

  2. Even after reading the instructions, it **is [still]** hard to understand.

So with the ～ても form in this sentence, the action (読む) may have already taken
place, or it may be a hypothetical action to take place in the future.

**説明書を読んだとしても分かりにくい**

By contrast, the ～としても pattern always refers to a hypothetical situation which
may or may not take place in the future. As such, the translation "even
supposing you were to [action]" often works well for ～たとしても:

  1. Even supposing you (I) were to read the instructions, it **would [still] be** hard to understand.

Note that while both ～ても and ～たとしても can both express hypothetical cases, ～ても
better matches a "even if … will" pattern, while ～たとしても better matches a "even
supposing … would" pattern in English.

