ものの details
write + although — the fact stands, and it changes nothing that follows
kaku mono no
although — the fact stands, and it changes nothing that follows
何度も練習したものの、本番では実力を出せなかった。
nando mo renshuu shita mono no, honban de wa jitsuryoku o dasenakatta.
I practised over and over, but on the day itself I couldn't show what I'm capable of. neutral
値段は安いものの、作りがどうにも粗い。
nedan wa yasui mono no, tsukuri ga dounimo arai.
The price is low, but the build quality is simply crude. neutral
- dictionary form
- た-form
- i-adjective
- na-adjective
- noun
Examples
although; ... but — the first clause is granted, and the outcome it points to does not arrive
何度も練習したものの、本番では実力を出せなかった。
nando mo renshuu shita mono no, honban de wa jitsuryoku o dasenakatta.
I practised over and over, but on the day itself I couldn't show what I'm capable of. neutral
値段は安いものの、作りがどうにも粗い。
nedan wa yasui mono no, tsukuri ga dounimo arai.
The price is low, but the build quality is simply crude. neutral
前例のない試みであるものの、実施する価値は十分にあると存じます。
zenrei no nai kokoromi de aru mono no, jisshi suru kachi wa juubun ni aru to zonjimasu.
Though it is an attempt without precedent, I believe it is well worth carrying out. formal
ご提案の趣旨は理解できるものの、今年度の予算では対応いたしかねます。
go teian no shushi wa rikai dekiru mono no, konnendo no yosan de wa taiou itashikanemasu.
We understand the thrust of your proposal, but we are unable to accommodate it within this year's budget. formal
Formation
{V}もののattaches to dictionary form{V-ta}もののattaches to た-form{I}もののattaches to i-adjective{NA-stem}なもののattaches to na-adjective{N}であるもののattaches to noun
Notes
merely add a further fact the way が can.
Related patterns
Similar
のに charges the contrast with the speaker's dissatisfaction or surprise and is at home in speech (せっかく作ったのに); ものの is written-plain and emotionally flat, reporting only that the expected consequence failed to follow — which is why のに can end a sentence as a complaint (…のに。) and ものの never can.
ものの concedes the first clause and then denies the conclusion you would draw from it (安いものの、質が悪い — the cheapness loses); 反面 denies nothing at all, listing a second property that stays as true as the first, which is why 反面 tolerates a purely descriptive second half where ものの demands a counter-expectation.
ものの must wedge between two clauses of one sentence and needs a predicate in front of it; にもかかわらず takes a bare noun with no copula at all (悪天候にもかかわらず) and opens sentences on its own, so it covers two positions ものの cannot reach.
ものの must sit between two clauses of one sentence and can never open one; とはいえ does both — it takes a clause in front (値段が高いとはいえ…) or stands at the head of a fresh sentence with the concession left behind in the previous one (…。とはいえ、…), which is where most of its written uses actually occur.
Lookalikes
Both wedge もの between two clauses, and the connective they carry is opposite — ものの concedes the first clause and denies what it would lead you to expect, while ものだから offers the first clause as the CAUSE of the second; swap them and the sentence's logic reverses, which the shared もの hides at reading speed.
ものの is a subordinating connective that leaves its clause hanging for a contrastive main clause to follow (安いものの、質はいまいちだ); ものがある is itself the main predicate and needs nothing after it.
ものの is subordinate — it leaves its clause hanging and the sentence's verdict lands after it; ものか completes the predication outright, and anything following is an afterthought tacked on behind the verdict (平気なものか、あんなに叱られたんだから), never the clause the sentence was still waiting for.