96388
> 話だけでも聞いてから結論を述べれば良いだろう  
>  Even if its just a story, you should probably state your conclusion after
> hearing it.

The main thing I'm sceptical about is that だけでも, does it mean "even if
it's..." in this context?
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2022-09-27T19:48:52.267
96384
2022-09-27T23:28:57.907
2022-09-27T22:44:26.577
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question
grammar interpretation
Is my understanding correct on this sentence? Particularly, use of だけでも
_Even if it's..._ is more simply でも. だけ is _just, only_. So overall _Even if
it's just the story_.

Since 話 is the object of 聞く, it is a bit hard to use _even if it's just.._
here. I'd translate it as _You should listen at least to the story and then
conclude_.

Semantically, _at least_ modifies _listen to_. It says, _You should listen to
the story at least and conclude, rather than giving the final conclusion
without even listening to it_. Also note that the _story_ here means something
like _what (someone) has to say_.

* * *

Some other examples:

  * 味噌汁だけでも飲みなさい Eat miso soup at least! (eating nothing is bad for your health)
  * 君だけでも助かってほしい I hope at least you survive ('I' may not be surviving).
  * 1万円だけでももらえるならうれしい Even if it's just 10000 yen, receiving it makes me happy.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-27T23:28:57.907
96388
2022-09-27T23:28:57.907
45489
96384
answer