～も～ば～も— Both This And That

• 彼は英語も話せれば、フランス語も話せる。

  Kare wa eigo mo hanasereba, furansugo mo hanaseru.

  He can speak both English and French.

  話せれば links the first ability, and も…も frames both languages as things he can do.

• あの店は値段も安ければ、味もいい。

  Ano mise wa nedan mo yasukereba, aji mo ii.

  That restaurant is both cheap and delicious.

  安ければ (ば-form of 安い) joins two positive qualities listed with も…も.

• 彼女は歌も上手なら、ダンスも得意だ。

  Kanojo wa uta mo jouzu nara, dansu mo tokui da.

  She is not only good at singing but also skilled at dancing.

  With na-adjective 上手, なら replaces ば to list two talents.

• ・Use ば after verbs and i-adjectives; use なら after nouns and na-adjectives.
• ・Often lists two things of the same polarity (both good, or both bad).
• ・Register: neutral to somewhat literary.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～も～ば～も is tested against.

• に応えて — In Response To / Living Up To
• ～ことは～が — True, But…
• ～つつ — While / Even Though
• ～というと／といえば／といったら — Speaking Of
• にかかわらず — Regardless Of / Irrespective Of
• にせよ〜にせよ — Whichever the Case
• にもかかわらず — In Spite of It All
• ～のみならず — Not Only, But Also