ことは～が

The pattern ことは～が is used to acknowledge or concede that something is true, while introducing a contrasting or qualifying statement. It conveys the nuance of "it is true that… but…" or "I do… but…". The key feature of this pattern is that the same word is repeated – once before ことは and once after it – followed by が (or けど) to introduce the contrasting clause.

Structure

The predicate appears twice: first in its plain form before ことは, and then again (often in a different tense or the same form) after ことは, followed by が.

• Verbs: Verb + ことは + same verb + が

  よむ読むことはよんだ読んだが、ないよう内容はよくわからなかった分からなかった。

  I did read it, but I didn't really understand the content.

• い-adjectives: Adj-i + ことは + same adj-i + が

  やすい安いことはやすい安いが、ひんしつ品質があまりよくない。

  It is cheap, sure, but the quality isn't very good.

• な-adjectives: Adj-na + な + ことは + same adj-na + だが

  しずか静かなことはしずか静かだが、すこし少しふべん不便だ。

  It is quiet, I'll grant you that, but it's a bit inconvenient.

Nuance

This structure implies a reluctant concession. The speaker admits a fact but wants to emphasize the limitation, reservation, or downside that follows. The contrast introduced by が is usually the speaker's main point.

The repeated word often appears in different forms – for instance, the first occurrence may be in the dictionary form while the second is in the past tense (いく行く ことは いった行った が). This is natural and common.

Politeness

In polite speech, が can be replaced with けど or けれども, and the verbs/adjectives can appear in their polite forms: