が / も～なら、～も～だ

like parent like child, as bad as each other, neither is any better, both are to blame

AI-generated

Structure

[noun A] + が + [noun A] + なら、[noun B] + も + [noun B] + だ [noun A] + も + [noun A] + なら、[noun B] + も + [noun B] + だ

Description

AがAなら、BもBだ criticises two related people at once: A is bad, and B is no better. Each noun is said twice, with nothing to say what is wrong with them; the repetition carries the complaint. The first half takes が or も, the second always も.

、。

The parent is hopeless, and the child is no better.

、。

The husband is bad enough, and the wife is just as bad.

、。

The boss is hopeless, and so are the staff.

The nouns are not swapped for a description of the fault. What is wrong goes in a sentence after it.

× 親が悪いなら、子も悪い → 親が親なら、子も子だ

、。。

The older brother is hopeless, and the younger one is no different. Neither of them studies at all.

が and も in the first half mean the same, and both are common.

、。

The teacher is bad, and the students are no better.

、。

The coach was awful, and the players were just as bad.

Usage notes

These go beyond two nouns.

Two sides of one act

The pair is often the two sides of one act, written with ほう方 after a verb: the one who does it and the one it is done to.

、。

The sellers are in the wrong, and so are the buyers.

、。

The one who cheats is to blame, and so is the one who gets cheated.

Half the pattern

XもXだ on its own says that X is also at fault, once someone else has already been blamed.

、。

He's in the wrong, but so are you.

Examples

、。

The parent is no good, and the child is just as bad.

、。。

The husband is at fault, and so is the wife. They should both reflect on their actions.

、。。

The teacher is bad, and the students are no better. Everyone sleeps during class.

、。。

The older brother is hopeless, and the younger brother is just the same. Neither of them studies at all.

、。。

The president is irresponsible, and the department head is equally so. Nobody tries to take responsibility.

、。

The sellers are bad, but the buyers are just as bad.

、。。

He's terrible, and she's no better. They both do nothing but lie to each other.

、。。

The coach was awful, and the players were just as bad. That game was unwatchable.

、。。

The mother is bad with money, and the daughter is no different. They're both terrible spenders.

、。

The one who deceives is bad, but the one who gets deceived is also to blame.

References

The Particle Ga I 格助詞「が」①imabi.org

がましい

からある / からする / からの