1

I have the following translation.

名古屋市内に入ると、
工事中で、
一方通行が多くて、
曲がりたくてもまっすぐ行かなければなりませんでした。

The following is what I have so far.

When I arrived inside the City of Nagoya
it was under construction and
there was a lot of 1 way traffic and
... I had to go straight.

I think 曲がりたくて is the te-form of 曲がりたい (I want to turn). But I am not sure how the following も connects it to the second part of the sentence. The only te-form + も structure we've learned is permission (followed by いいですか or something similar).

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5

〜ても means something like "even if".

曲がりたくてもまっすぐ行かなければなりませんでした。
"Even if I wanted to turn, I had no choice but to go straight."

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  • Could it mean "even though"?
    – Snowy Coder Girl
    Commented Dec 16, 2013 at 0:49
  • Interesting question. No, I think that'd be more like 曲がりたかったのに、…
    – Darius Jahandarie
    Commented Dec 16, 2013 at 1:17
  • You want "though" to get away from the fact that "if" sounds hypothetical... maybe "even when", then? This ても doesn't have to be a total hypothetical. The writer almost certainly did find himself wanting to turn. Yet it is different from "even though(のに)". "Even though(のに)" would seem to imply there was one (long, persisting?) time he wanted to turn. "Even if/when(ても)" on the other hand implies that he was forced to go straight on all occasions, even including the (possibly many) occasions when he wanted to turn.
    – Hyperworm
    Commented Dec 16, 2013 at 13:10
  • Thanks @Hyperworm. That was what I was trying to get at (a more fluid sounding sentence). I wonder if "even if I had wanted" sounds a bit better and is still a straightforward translation?
    – Snowy Coder Girl
    Commented Dec 16, 2013 at 18:13
  • Though I guess that would have to be 曲がりたくていても huh?
    – Snowy Coder Girl
    Commented Dec 16, 2013 at 18:17

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