What is the も in 今年も used for ? What does 雨が少なく mean here, and why isn't it followed by a て?

Question

I have the following translation for class.

今年も、
トゥーソンは、
雨が少なく、
水が不足して、
困るかもしれません。

So far, I have the following.

This year also
Tucson
rain is little
water has become insufficient and
it might be a problem.

I have a few questions.

1. Why is there that も on 今年? Is it just signifying that the absence of rain is "also" like other years?
2. I am confused by the 雨が少なく. I am not sure how to relate it to Tucson. "As for Tucson, the rain is little"? Also, I would expect a て at the end (少なくて). But is it somehow an adverb instead of て form?

Answer 1

1. The drought in Arizona has been going on for about fifteen years. So it's "this year too".

2. The 連用形{れんようけい} ("continuative form") of a verb or adjective can be used like a conjunction without adding て. For an adjective, that is the 〜く form, and for a verb, it's the stem you add 〜ます to.

   Here you have the 連用形 of an adjective, not an adverb. It acts like a conjunction, joining two predicates together. You can think of it like 少ない, except that the sentence continues with something like an "and".

   We have some questions already where people talk about this usage:

   • いAdjective. difference between くて and く
   • Use of く-form over くて in an い-adjective
   • Is there a term for using conjugating verbs such that the sentence continues with another clause?
   • なく vs. なくて and stem form vs. てform as conjunctions

   But if you wait, perhaps someone will write another answer talking about it.