Skip to main content
Tweeted twitter.com/StackJapanese/status/804832044165591041
Source Link
Arvy
  • 51
  • 6

Verb+koto+mo soshite Verb+koto+mo nai. Should both words with mo particles be affected by nai at the end?

Ok, here are the lyrics from the idolmaster song called Nation Blue. You can see full lyrics on the imas wiki here: http://www.project-imas.com/wiki/Nation_Blue

The song is pretty hard for a novice like me, but the part I have a question about is this:

佇むことも そして振り返ることも無く

キミの近く そう 付いていきたいんだ

And the way I see it, the first line should be pretty much the same as

佇むことの無く そして振り返ることの無く

And my translation is:

Without loitering/standing still and without looking back,
I want to go after you and be very close to you.

As far as I know that is how "~mo ~mo verb" should work. The verb at the end should be applied to all words with mo before it, isn't it?

But the translation on the wiki says otherwise:

Stopping for a moment and then not looking back,

To be honest I'd write it off as a mistake on wiki's part, but my acquaintance with N2 claims wiki's version as well, therefore I'm really confused now. Do I misunderstand the basics of ~mo usage? Or is there anything else I'm missing? No matter how I look at it, the sentence becomes extremely strange if you go with the wiki's translation. I mean 無く is in adverb form, so it should be a description of how she wants to go after him (or am I wrong here as well?).

So I repeat the question. Should 無く here affect both 佇むことも and 振り返ることも or only 振り返ることも?