So I'm working through Makino and Tsutsui's _Dictionary of Advanced Japanese
Grammar_ , and I came across this sentence:

> ソウルにいるのも今夜きりです。  
>  This is my last night left in Seoul.

The entry is about teaching きり, which I understand just fine. What I can't
work out is how も is being used here. 'Being in Seoul'も'This is the last
night'. I can't see how this can mean 'even' or 'also' or any other definition
I've looked at. I was thinking it must be a typo for もう, which would make
sense.
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particle-も
Odd use of も has me stumped 「ソウルにいるのも今夜きりです」
This is a bit challenging to translate into English. It doesn't really mean
"this is also my last night in Seoul" (as opposed to something else that might
be his/her last night in Seoul), but rather "'being in Seoul' also comes to an
end (for me) tonight".

What the other thing also coming to an end tonight is, is a mystery without
context.

Try the following:

> 朴さんに会えるのは今夜きりです。
>
> ソウルにいるのも今夜きりです。

The other possibility, which deviates slightly from the other answers, is that
there _is_ something else that comes to an end tonight (as there are an
indefinite number of possibilities), but nothing specific has to be mentioned
in the context.

Consider the following translation for the same phrase:

> Among other things, being in Seoul comes to an end for me tonight.

Just as in English, "among other things" can be omitted and essentially keep
the meaning unchanged.

* * *

It might help to grasp the meaning by replacing the "も" with "は" or "が". Then
it's just a nominalized verb "いる" being described.
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While も typically does indicate the presence of something else in the sense of
"also", I believe sometimes it is used in a more general sense such that there
is nothing to really compare against.

A found a description in the
[dictionary](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/thsrs/17168/meaning/m0u/%E3%82%82/)
to back this up:

> (3) 夜もふけてきた  
>  ...  
>  ...また、例文(3)のように同類の事柄が特定できない場合もある...  
>  ...[Also, as in example sentence #3 there are cases where the similar
> matter cannot be identified]

(English translation above is my own)

I have seen this usage in other expressions such as ”幸いにも” and ”というのも”.

Also, in certain cases も seems like it can be used to emphasize something,
such as "百年も前”, where there is no sense of "also".

I'm pretty sure the usage of も in the poster's question applies in one of
these categories, such that there is no feeling of "also" and possibly some
level of emphasis.
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I listed up several examples that I can use ‘も.’ in the sentence, but I cannot
think up how I should incorporate the nuance of ‘も’ into English.

Even if I omit ‘も,’ from the following examples, you can understand or guess
what I mean, but they sound sometimes awkward without “も.”

> 冗談も程々に - Refrain from joking.
>
> 今にも雨が降り出しそうだ - It’s going to start raining right now.
>
> 雨も上がった。さあ出かけよう - It stopped raining. Now let's go out.
>
> 桜も今週いっぱいだ - Full bloom of cherries will end by this weekend.
>
> 試験も終わった。これで羽を伸ばせる - The exam is over. Now I can fully go on the loose.
>
> ローマも見[納]{おさ}めだ - This is the last time I see Rome.
>
> 君との付き合いもこれで終わりだ - (All done.) I have to break off our relationship.
>
> 明日にもここを発たねばならない - I have to leave here tomorrow.
>
> いかにもあなたの[仰]{おっしゃ}るとおりです - True, you are exactly right.
>
> 100万円も使い道がない - Though I have ¥1 million, I don’t find the right way to use
> it.

Among the above examples, there's no problem to replace 冗談も with 冗談は, 桜も with
桜は, 試験も with 試験は, ローマも with ローマは, 君との付き合いも with 君との付き合いは, 明日にも with 明日には, and
there wouldn't be much difference in meaning between two different ways of
saying.

As I’m not a grammarian, I’m unable to explain logically what the functions
and definition of “も” are. I’m sure somebody else can. But it seems to me “も“
is used to emphasize the preceding noun, adverb, i.e., words such as
冗談、今、雨、桜、試験、ローマ、付き合い、明日、いかに、and 100万円, like say, "this very" in English.
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This is what 庭三郎 calls the 「詠嘆のモ」, "the exclamation も".

> その他に、「詠嘆のモ」と言われる用法があります。
>
> 巨人も弱くなったねえ。
>
> この場合、他にも弱くなったチームがあって（例えば阪神）、それと同じよ うに、というわけではありません。たんにそのＮについて、述語が表す内容が
> 起こったことを（軽く）詠嘆的に述べているだけです。
>
> 俺も年をとったなあ。
>
> あんたも馬鹿だねえ。
>
> 秋もようやく深まって、・・・

<http://www.geocities.jp/niwasaburoo/18fukujosi.html>

The nuance here is something like "This is my last night in Seoul" (and I'm
emotional about that).

This is a bit confusing because it basically means the も particle has a usage
that is completely opposite of what you've thought it means since you started
learning Japanese. A good way to tell this usage of も apart is if the "also"
meaning doesn't seem to make sense in context. Amateur translators will often
force an "also" into their translation when faced with this unfamiliar usage
because they feel uncomfortable interpreting noun + も as meaning anything
other than "also".
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