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I'm wondering if と, which the Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar says leads to a uncontrollable event, is, in addition to this, used with the meaning of a fact that will for sure happen if the condition is met.

I ask because I am unsure if sentences with hypotheses in the main clause can be used with と, like:

雨が降ると、明日の試合は中止するかもしれない。
If it rains, tomorrow's match might be canceled.

この間食を摂ると、お腹がいっぱいになるでしょう。
If you take this snack, you probably will be full.

Moreover, can you use conjecture with と? This phrase, for instance, sounds weird?

カナリアの鳴き声がよく聞こえないと、耳が遠くなってきたようです。
If I cannot hear well the cries of canaries, it will appears that I am going deaf.

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  • You are messing up the verb tense in your try.
    – oldergod
    Jul 12, 2013 at 6:25
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    @summea Oh sorry I thought I said what the problem was which is that he messed up with the verb tense in his try. Thanks
    – oldergod
    Jul 12, 2013 at 6:55
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    What are you asking exactly? I'm not quite getting it even after reading it several times.
    – istrasci
    Jul 12, 2013 at 14:13
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    @summea Thanks for the notification, but where exactly is the problem with tenses?
    – Perrow
    Jul 12, 2013 at 16:36
  • @istrasci I'm asking if is grammatically correct to use words that shows conjectures (like よう) and hipotheses (like かもしれない) together with the conditional と. If the question isn't clear enough, I'm sorry, English is not my native language.
    – Perrow
    Jul 12, 2013 at 16:39

1 Answer 1

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カナリアの鳴き声がよく聞こえないと、耳が遠くなってきたようです。

sounds wired.
The thing 'I cannot hear well the cries of canaries' have nothing to do with the 'going deaf'.

If I cannot hear well the cries of canaries, it will appears that I am going deaf.

I will translate that.

もしカナリアの鳴き声がよく聞こえないなら、それは私の耳が悪くなってきたことの現れでしょう。


One more case,

カナリアの鳴き声がよく聞こえないと、耳が遠くなったのではないかと心配になります。

is natural.
The thing 'I cannot hear well the cries of canaries' have something to do with the '心配になる( feel worried )'.

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  • I'd go with カナリアの鳴き声がよく聞こえなくなったら、耳が遠くなったということだろう。
    – Earthliŋ
    Jul 15, 2013 at 0:18

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