～ものの: Two の's, coming together, to form a "but"

Introduction

Welcome to a lesson that won't take の for an answer. Because it involves two のs. You'd need two. Not just one.

Welcome to...

～ものの: Two のs, but only one "but"

構成こうせい

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  Verb/い-adjectiveものの

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  Noun/なadjective(とはいう・な・である・etc.)ものの
  Example:
  → 釣つりを終日しゅうじつ頑張がんばったものの、当あたりが一度いちども来こなかった。
  "Despite doing (their) best to fish all day, they didn't get a single bite.”

As usual, here's a little Japanese overview of this grammar point, all for N2-level you!

日本語にほんご文法ぶんぽう説明せつめい

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  「X（従属節じゅうぞくせつ）ものの、Y（主節しゅせつ）」

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  従属節じゅうぞくせつに述のべられた内容ないようから期待きたいされる事態じたいが主節しゅせつで起おこらないこと

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  Xから予想よそう・期待きたいされることと、Yの現実げんじつが違ちがうと言いいたい時ときに使つかう。

What an interesting grammar point!... Right? Are you sure you read all that?

Well, in case you skipped some of it because you were too busy fishing, let me give you the usual English explanation as well...

Overview

The ～ものの pattern is used as a conjunction between a subordinate and principal clause, with the pattern 「(subordinate clause)ものの、(principal clause)」. Think of the subordinate clause as the supporting info and the principal clause as the main thing the speaker wants to say.

Usually, the information that comes before ものの sets up a given expectation, which the information following ものの then contradicts. So basically, we set up an expectation in the subordinate, supporting clause, and then break it all down in the principal clause.

In English

ものの is quite similar to "although" in English, as in, "Although he spent the whole day fishing, he didn't get even a single bite." However, "but", "in spite of/despite", and "even though" are also possible.

Similar Grammar

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  けれど・が・しかし (Elementary #83 and Apprentice #28)

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  ～と言いっても (Adept #82)

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  ～のに (Apprentice #27)

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  ～ながらも (Adept #85)

Other forms

ものの itself has no alternative forms, but when it comes to nouns and な-adjectives, it can attach to a wide variety of grammar, including とは言いう, which changes the nuance of the ～ものの statement somewhat. More on this later in the lesson.

Politeness

～ものの is formal in tone, and although it may occasionally be used in spoken scenarios, it tends to be used more in written ones.

例文れいぶん

ものの can follow each part of speech, and we'll take a look at some examples of each in turn. Pay close attention to the nouns/な-adjectives section, where attachment to ものの gets a bit wilder and rowdier.

動詞どうし + ものの

For verbs, we can attach ものの to any verb in its casual form

In this case, our supporting clause is 「昇進しょうしんした」, "(I) got a promotion", which sets up certain expectations, like... the speaker getting more responsibilities and usually, more money. Or so you would think! But in this case, their pay didn't increase, and so they use ものの to set up the expectation-defying principal clause: 「給料きゅうりょうは上あがりませんでした」.

You'll notice that all ～ものの statements follow this pattern: set up expectation → break expectation. But don't get the wrong idea, ～ものの is not exclusively used in negative scenarios, and sometimes, a negative expectation will be overturned by a positive outcome.

For example, in this case, the expectation was that due to the low price, the fishing rod might not have been the best, but it turns out that it was easy to use. Hurray!

い形容詞けいようし + ものの

Just like verbs, い-adjectives should be in their casual form to attach to ものの.

な形容詞けいようし + ものの

For な-adjectives, we can attach ものの using な, as well as である, ではある, and their variants. And of course, there's also the infamous とは言いう + ものの! But we'll leave that for last. Here are the basic な-adjective + ものの patterns:

名詞めいし + ものの

Just like な-adjectives, nouns can attach using である・ではある and other だ variants:

(Noun/な-adjective) + とはいうものの

Okay, enough with the suspense and build-up! Let's finally see what exactly makes the ～とはいうものの pattern so special.

First things first, we can only use the ～とはいうものの pattern with nouns and な-adjectives. So the verbs and い-adjectives will have to take a back seat for now.

There are two main differences between a regular ～ものの statement and a ～とはいうものの statement:

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  ① とはいうものの can come at the start of a sentence.

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  ② とはいうものの creates a bigger sense of contrast between expectation and reality.

② is essentially the case because とはいうものの tends to be used when the "expectation" is not only set up in the subordinate clause, but rather, when the expectation is a common preconceived notion of some kind, or a generally accepted truth. In other words, とはいうものの is often used when the expectation being broken is something that is generally accepted/common knowledge. (I say "often" because there are many scenarios where ものの and とはいうものの can be used interchangeably.)

Let's see some examples!

Notice that とはいうものの attaches to something that is fairly obvious: preparation for disasters is important.

Twins being similar in terms of personality, likes/dislikes/etc. is a sort of general notion that many people have, so とはいうものの works well here.

And let's also check out how とはいうものの can come at the start of a sentence:

Notice how 5.3 is similar to the usual ～ものの, as it involves something personal to the speaker.

Meanwhile, 5.4 is more specific to ～とはいうものの, as it deals with expectations that are more generally accepted.

Let's have just two more examples before moving on:

5.6 here is an example of how the rule of "とはいうものの can only be used with nouns and な-adjectives" can occasionally be broken, but generally, we should stick to nouns/な-adjectives.

Compare and contrast with similar grammar

VS other "buts"

Since ～ものの is a conjunction, it is similar to a lot of grammar you've already learned. For instance, all of the other "but"s.

What really sets ものの apart from grammar points like が・けど・けれど・etc., is the sense of contrast between setting up expectation X, and then breaking it down with reality Y. That, and of course ものの's formal, written tone. (Although (だ)が can be formal as well.)

For example:

6.1a

一番いちばん安やすいのを買かったが、中々なかなか使つかいやすかった。

I bought the cheapest one, but it was quite easy to use.

Just a normal "but" for 6.1a, nothing to see here.

6.1b

一番いちばん安やすいのを買かったものの、中々なかなか使つかいやすかった。

Although I bought the cheapest one, it was quite easy to use.

Meanwhile, 6.1b has more of a sense of contrast between the expectation established by it being the cheapest, and the positive outcome.

VS といっても

The ～といっても pattern can also be used to express a contrast between two pieces of info, but it is more concerned with clarifying certain aspects of something. Take a look:

6.2a

社長しゃちょうといっても、社員しゃいん3人さんにんの小ちいさな会社かいしゃです。

I say I'm a CEO, but it's a small company of three people.

Here, we're clarifying that "yes, X is true, but Y" by use of といっても.

6.2b

社長しゃちょうではあるものの、社員しゃいん3人さんにんの小ちいさな会社かいしゃです。

Although they are a CEO, their company is a small one of three people.

While in this one, we're using ものの to focus on the gap between the expectation associated with being a "CEO", and the reality of the person's company.

VS のに

Both のに and ものの can be used to express that Y reality did not follow from X expectation, however, のに is almost exclusively used with negative statements, while ものの has no such requirement. ものの also has a more written nuance, while のに is commonly used in spoken and casual scenarios.

6.3a

風かぜが強つよかったのに、晴はれていて気持きもちの良いい日ひでした。❌

6.3b

風かぜが強つよかったものの、晴はれていて気持きもちの良いい日ひでした。

Although the wind was strong, it was a very nice sunny day.

VS ながらも

Both ものの and ながらも are fairly formal in tone, but compared to ものの, which expresses that a given reality defies expectations, ながらも expresses that while "X expectation exists, Y reality is also true". In other words, ながらも expresses that two things are true simultaneously.

For example:

6.4a

不得意ふとくいながらも、いつも努力どりょくをしている。

Although I'm not good at (it), I always try my best." (It is true that I'm not good at it, but it is also true that I always try my best)

6.4b

不得意ふとくいなものの、いつも努力どりょくをしている。

Although I'm not good at (it), I always try my best." (I'm not good at it (so you may expect that I don't try that hard), but I always try my best)

Here, ものの adds the nuance that the listener might expect the speaker not to try very hard.

And that's all for the double-の, ものの!

Your contrastive "although" powers are reaching a most fearsome height. But wait, there's more! (At some point.)

Summary

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  ～ものの is a conjunction that is used to set up a contrastive statement between an expectation and reality.

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  ～ものの is similar to "although; but; even though; despite" in English.

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  ～ものの is formal in tone and mainly used in written scenarios, although it may occasionally be used when speaking.

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  ～とはいうものの may also be used, and has two key differences from ～ものの: ① とはいうものの can come at the start of a sentence, ② とはいうものの creates a bigger sense of contrast between expectation and reality.