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I don't get what 少しでも and と mean in this sentence (from a manga) :

> 人々の多くは少しでもターゲットになりにくそうな僻地に身を隠そうとムダな努力を始めていた。

I remember reading that the conditional と couldn't be use with the volitional
form so I guess it relates to 始める, but I have no idea what AとBを始める would
mean...

My guess as to a translation (eluding 少しでも):

> Many people started to make useless efforts to hide in remote places that
> looked like they couldn't easily become targets.

Thanks for your time.
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2014-04-18T21:59:58.860
15477
2023-08-26T02:37:51.240
4822
question
meaning particles
Meaning of と and 少しでも　in this sentence
I think 少しでも is 少し + でも meaning "even if a little". In this sentence, it would
apply to how the hiding place would make it hard to become a target.
Translating quite literally:

> 少しでもターゲットになりにくそうな僻地
>
> remote places which seemed like making it harder to become targets, even if
> by a little

As for と, I'm not completely sure but it may mean "attempt to do". See the
answer to this question [Volitional + と +
Verb](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/9688/volitional-%E3%81%A8-verb).
In this case the translation for the second part could be:

> 身を隠そうとムダな努力を始めていた
>
> were starting a futile attempt to hide

I would traslated the whole sentence as:

> 人々の多くは少しでもターゲットになりにくそうな僻地に身を隠そうとムダな努力を始めていた。
>
> Many people were starting a futile attempt to hide in remote places which
> seemed like making it harder to become targets, even if by a little.
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2014-04-19T02:33:08.283
15484
2014-04-19T05:58:15.363
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
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answer
[A late answer but there seems to be some misunderstanding of this Japanese
quotative construction.]

After a Volitional + と as in your example, you can assume 思って or 言って or the
like, has been elided, so the basic meaning is '[thinking/saying that] they
could hide themselves in an isolated place even slightly less susceptible to
becoming a target, their effort was wasted.'

Such quotative constructions are very common, Samuel Martin's Reference
Grammar of Japanese provides a thorough coverage.
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2023-08-26T02:37:51.240
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2023-08-26T02:37:51.240
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answer