67944
I tried to find a notion for もう that combines all of its different meanings
into one concept. This is what I came up with:

_もう shapes the entire feeling of a sentence by emphasizing change._

Examples:  
"もう来ないでください" (it was okay for the addressee to come before)  
"９じ時ですからもう失礼します" (the speaker only has to disturb now)  
"あいつは、もうだめだ" (the situation with that person is now hopeless, but has not
always been)

I really like this approach, but I have trouble applying this understanding of
もう to its usage in phrases such as "もう一度" and "もう一本飲みます". Does anyone have an
idea how to combine the meaning of もう in these last two examples with the
concept of emphasizing change? (Provided that this way of looking at the word
is deemed viable at all.)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-01T20:08:29.787
67928
2019-05-02T17:09:42.423
33212
question
grammar adverbs
Finding a Notion for もう
I like your analysis of the concept at work here. I think the notion of
"change" is still appropriate for もう一度 and もう一杯. While the もう in this context
is commonly glossed as "more", I believe it is still possible to apply your
analysis:

  * For もう一度, the speaker now intends to do something once more, or perhaps to ask someone else to do something once more.
  * For もう一杯, the speaker now intends to have one more glass.

The emphasis is still on a change of state in the now, with the change being
one of intent.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-02T17:09:42.423
67944
2019-05-02T17:09:42.423
5229
67928
answer