← Grammar bank

Formation: ともすれば (adverb) + clause, usually ending in 〜がちだ／〜やすい／〜かねない／〜てしまう

ともすれば is an adverb, not something that attaches to a word. It warns that, left unchecked, things easily slide in a certain direction: 'all too easily, one tends to…' The tendency is usually an undesirable one, so the clause often ends in 〜がちだ, 〜しやすい, 〜かねない or 〜てしまう. It sounds formal and written, and is typical of essays, editorials and speeches. ともすると means the same and is a little more common in speech, and ややもすれば／ややもすると are close synonyms. 〜がち and 〜きらいがある come at the end of the clause and themselves express the tendency, while ともすれば comes before the clause and announces it. The two kinds are often used together.

Variants: ともすると、ややもすれば、ややもすると

Examples

• 忙しいと、ともすれば家族との時間がおろそかになりがちだ。
  When we're busy, we're all too apt to neglect time with our families.
• 若者の意見は、ともすれば軽視されやすい。
  Young people's opinions are easily brushed aside.
• 便利な生活に慣れると、ともすれば感謝の心を忘れてしまう。
  Once we get used to a convenient life, we can easily forget to be grateful.

In real texts 0 occurrence(s)

No post has used this pattern yet. Examples from real texts will appear here.