〜ても〜てなくても

About

The ～ても～なくても pattern is a combination of a て form verb/い-adjective + the も particle (or a な-adjective/noun + でも) with the negative て form + も of the same word.

This means that for the ～ても～なくても pattern, the same word should be repeated twice, once in its affirmative て form, and once in its negative.

E.g. 行いっても、行いかなくても "whether (one) goes or doesn’t go"

E.g. 先生せんせいでも、先生せんせいじゃなくても "whether (someone) is a teacher or not"

The ～ても～なくても pattern is used to express "whether or not..." and indicates that the speaker is neutral/indifferent as to whether or not something happens/is the case.

E.g. 来きても来こなくても、私わたしたちは9時じには帰かえります。 "Whether (they) come or not, we'll be going home at 9."

E.g. マイクは暇ひまでも暇ひまじゃなくても、いつもゲームをしている。 "Whether he's free or not, Mike is always playing games."

Summary

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  The ～ても～なくても pattern is used to express "whether or not..."

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  The ～ても～なくても pattern indicates that the speaker is neutral/indifferent as to whether or not something happens/is the case

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  The ～ても～なくても pattern can be used with verbs, adjectives, and nouns