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One thing I notice is that {~もあり} can follow an adverb, such as:

良くもあり、悪くもあり

Other than that, when do we use {~もあり、~もあり} clause pattern instead of {~もあって、~もあって}? Is using {~もあり} considered more stylish than {~もあって}?

自転車もあって、バイクもあって

vs

自転車もあり、バイクもあり

Disclaimer: my own examples so they might not even make sense ..

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3 Answers 3

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First, on the difference between あり and あって: The two perform the same function here (transitioning to the next clause with "and"), but using the ~ます stem form as a transition is more literary than the ~て form. In speech, you're far more likely to hear あって.

Now as for where these come from and where else they can be used, let's look at nouns as an example. Recall that である can be used in place of だ:

彼は監督である。 He is a manager.

Now in modern Japanese, you wouldn't hear this in speech, because である has been relegated to the status of "literary construction". But what if you wanted to say, "He is both a manager and a player."? You might be tempted to say something like this:

彼は監督も選手もである。

Unfortunately, this is incorrect. To fix this, we use である behind each noun, with the も particle in between the で and the ある:

彼は監督でもあり、選手でもある。 He is both a manager and a player.

(In speech, you would replace the あり with あって, but the last ある will stay the same.)

And since we can treat the ある in である just like the regular verb ある (some grammatical purists may argue that it's not in the same category, but oh well), we can apply this strategy to negatives:

彼は監督でもなく、選手でもない。 He is neither a manager nor a player.

(And as expected, in speech you would replace なく with なくて.)

By extension, the same rule applied to adjectives (you've already seen the positive form):

この本は面白くもなく、つまらなくもない。 This book is neither interesting nor boring. (How odd!)

Incidentally, the particle は can substitute for も with the above adjective example. In this case, it indicates a point on a scale somewhere in between the adjective used and its opposite.

この本は面白くはない。 This book [may not be totally boring, but it] is not interesting.

Simply saying 面白くない typically implies that it's つまらない, but saying 面白くはない implies that it doesn't quite reach all the way to the point of being つまらない.

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「〜もあり」is something I've often seen used in terms of "that's plausible" or more literally "can also exist" as in:

それもありだよね。

Example: http://winwin.livedoor.biz/archives/51564826.html

In regards to your question with 「〜もあって」, as it's referring to the existence of something, the usage isn't all that common. The reason being in your example case:

自転車もあって、バイクもあって

"There was also a bike, there was also a motorbike" becomes a loose translation. In this case I'd instead go with combining the items using 「と」:

自転車もバイクもあったよ

"There was also a bike and a motorbike"

Or in the case of lists with no definitive end, 「や」:

自転車やバイクもあったよ

"There was also a bike and a motorbike"

Though in this case leaving open the possibility of there being more related items. However, there is also a common phrase:

このこともあろうと思った!

"I thought something like this would happen!"

Which can potentially be used in a case such as:

こんな事もあって人生かな

Loose translation: "Life where things like this can happen"

Example: http://www.rak1.jp/one/user/abijii/

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Just use these two search patterns on teh Google to find examples:

"*もあって*もあって” takes nouns 震災もあって、寒さもあって 笑いもあってアクションもあって

"*もあり*もあり” takes adverbs as Ignacio said. 楽しくもあり、難しくもあり 安くもあり高くもあり

But also I see indicators あれもあり!これもあり!

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