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With a bit of googling I found that this form means "Although; But; subject
may well do N, but not S; ~することはあっても~することはない", and I found
[this](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/76491/%E3%81%93%E3%81%AE%E5%B7%A5%E5%A0%B4%E3%81%AF%E8%A6%8F%E6%A8%A1%E3%81%93%E3%81%9D%E5%B0%8F%E3%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%81%8C-%E5%B9%B4%E5%95%86%E3%81%AF%E6%95%B0%E5%8D%81%E5%84%84%E5%86%86%E3%81%AB%E4%B8%8A%E3%81%8C%E3%82%8B)
answer, which as far as I understand confirms that meaning
(「～こそすれ」は「～はするけれど」の「～」の部分（動作）を強調しつつ堅めに言い換えた表現です).

I'm having trouble really understanding it, though; for example, in an anime I
found this sentence:

> ゲーム部の人たちを尊敬こそすれど滑稽だなんて思いません‌

which would translate as "I respect the members of the game club, but I would
never think of them as ridiculous"; I get the general meaning, but that "but"
(はする **けれど** , ~することはあっ **ても** ~することはない) sounds really odd to me: "but" seems
to create a contrast, like "I respect the members of the game club, but I
would never join it" or "I **don't** respect the members of the game club, but
I would never think of them as ridiculous", so in that sentence I'd rather
read something like "I respect the members of the game club, **(and)** I would
never think of them as ridiculous".

How should I read this structure?
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2023-03-21T19:17:22.197
99011
2023-03-22T13:56:59.703
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question
grammar
Meaning and breakdown of こそすれ(ども・ど) + ない
At least when it is not followed by ど or ども, the verb in the first part of
these constructions is normally either する or ある. What you do (する) or what
exists (ある) is expressed by a noun or a nominalized verbal phrase. If the verb
is する, it may also be part of `[V ます-stem]-はする`.

> 〜はすれ（ど）、〜  
>  〜ことはあれ（ど）、〜

The second part often follows the same pattern, too. Additionally, it may be
`[V た-form]-り（は）しない`.

> 〜はすれ（ど）、〜はしない  
>  〜ことはあれ（ど）、〜ことはない

They may be mixed.

> 〜はすれ（ど）、〜ことはない  
>  〜ことはあれ（ど）、〜はしない

The reason the adversative relationship is not clear in your example is that
it uses the verb in a normal negative form. I’m not sure if this is considered
grammatical. I didn’t think it was particularly odd when I first read it, but
I’m not very sure now.

The contrast becomes clearer if you rephrase it to match either of the above
patterns by pulling out what is to be negated before the verb (する or ある) in
the second part because that's what the first part is contrasted against.

> ゲーム部の人たちを尊敬こそすれど滑稽だなんて思いはしません  
>  ゲーム部の人たちを尊敬こそすれど滑稽だなんて思ったりはしません  
>  ゲーム部の人たちを尊敬こそすれど滑稽だと思ったりなんてしません  
>  ゲーム部の人たちを尊敬こそすれど滑稽だなんて思うことはありません  
>  ゲーム部の人たちを尊敬こそすれど滑稽だと思うことなんてありません

It’s a bit tricky because of なんて. Depending on the position, it replaces は.
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2023-03-22T13:46:26.613
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2023-03-22T13:56:59.703
2023-03-22T13:56:59.703
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answer