English Translation
I had the good fortune to succeed.
What role does the も play?
1 Like
@ericaw
幸運にも or 幸いにも (pron. さいわいにも) is a set phrase. I have even never thought about the compounded particle にも. And I have never tried to drop も from this phrase.
I guess you assumed that the primary meaning of も is “too/also/as well”.
But も sometimes introduces something unexpected or something different/opposite (similar to the conjunction BUT) and highlights the gap.
どんなに運動しても痩せなかった。= I worked out so much. BUT I couldn’t lose weight.
たとえ高性能のマスクを着用しても、完全にはCOVID-19感染を防げないだろう。= No matter how good mask you might wear, it wouldn’t perfectly guarantee COVID-19 free.
There is no connotation of “too/also”. These are verb + て + も. But you can also apply the same function of も to adverb + も structure. For example,
ジャイアンツは惜しくも敗れた。= Giants lost the game by hair.
Giants played the baseball game so good. But Giants eventually lost. It was unexpected.
エンジェルスは辛くも勝った。= Angels won the tight game.
You cannot drop も from either of the abovementioned cases.
2 Likes