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If you look at my translation of the sentence below from a text book (総まとめ N3
読解), I think you will agree that I have guessed the meaning correctly but can
anyone explain the grammar to the first phrase in bold? The particle も seems
to have a wider usage than that given in most books or perhaps there is an
omitted phrase?

> 「 **かわいい写真たてもうれしかった** けれど、それより、 黙ってプレゼントを用意してくれていたことに感激した。」
>
> "I was very happy with the photoframe (?) but more than that, I was touched
> that she prepared a present secretly, without revealing anything."

Context: This was an entry to a young woman's diary, trying to think of a nice
birthday present for her friend.
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2012-07-29T03:45:34.713
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2014-11-11T15:48:40.903
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question
grammar particle-も
What's the function of the particle も in 「かわいい写真たてもうれしかったけど、…」?
も means "also", which means there is something else on top of which something
is added. You might be tempted to assume that this "something else" should
have been introduced into the context in advance, but in this case, it is not.
It is introduced in the part that follows this expression.

> I was also happy for the pretty picture stand, but rather than that, I was
> surprised by the fact that she had prepared a secret present.
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2012-07-29T09:16:16.057
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2012-07-29T12:19:03.417
2012-07-29T12:19:03.417
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answer
Let me shamelessly steal the explanation by sawa and an example by Chocolate
to make up a slightly different explanation.

も signifies that there are other things than the thing to which も is attached.
It is sometimes used with けれど or a similar conjunctive, and in this case the
thing to which も is attached is contrasted to something else, which is often
more important than the thing introduced with も.

> かわいい写真たて **も** うれしかったけれど、それより、 黙ってプレゼントを用意してくれていたことに感激した。 Although the cute
> photo frame made me happy, (it was not the only thing that made me happy,
> namely) more importantly, I was moved by the fact that he/she had prepared a
> present without saying a word.
>
> 勉強 **も** 大事だけど、たまには息抜きしなきゃ。 Although studying is important, (it is not the
> only important thing, namely) you have to take a break once in a while.
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2012-07-30T00:59:47.813
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2012-07-31T13:10:45.383
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answer
My first thought was that the frame was _so_ cute, I was happy... も as an
intensifier usually/often appears concatenated with other particles but can
show up by itself. Even with the new info on the context, I'm not sure _also_
is the way to go. Could this be truly ambiguous? If we had audio it might be
clear: the frame was _sooo_ cute vs the frame was _also_ cute...
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2012-07-30T01:33:15.587
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answer