Questions tagged [conditionals]
条件表現. Also known as if-then constructions. In Japanese conditionals are expressed with one of と, ～(れ)ば, ～たら, なら(ば).
148
questions
5
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1answer
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Standard Formula for Past Counterfactual Conditional (what is the role of -te iru?)
What is the standard formula for making a counterfactual conditional sentence that talks about the past? That is, English conditionals that have this pattern: "If ..... had ..... , ..... would ...
3
votes
1answer
185 views
Use of だと when not quoting
Is だと used similarly to って or は but it also largely emphasises what's has come before it so that you can commented?
This is why I get a feeling of it meaning something along the lines of "This ...
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0answers
18 views
Understanding あるとは珍しい [duplicate]
「おおっ、こんなぜいたくな物がうちにあるとは珍しいね」
Oh, finding such luxurious presents at our place is unusual.
I'm a bit confused by the と in this sentence. I can only imagine that it is a conditional と. I guess "if ...
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vote
0answers
72 views
The different ways to translate “when”
This is more an observation on English, than Japanese, but the word "when" is used in quite a few different ways. And I've been wondering how to translate these different meanings into ...
3
votes
0answers
179 views
Meaning of た form + なら
What I've studied is that in Japanese, you don't use past tenses in conditional sentences to express a lower probability (like if I were instead of if I am). I know there's a conditional formed with た ...
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0answers
34 views
What is the function of から in this sentence? [duplicate]
I found this sentence in the lyrics of a song:
振り返ればもう戻れないから
I don't understand the context and the function of から placed in this sentence.
The song is this:
http://m.kget.jp/lyric.php?song=260055
2
votes
1answer
106 views
Connotations of なら vs たら in conditional clauses
I am wondering about the choice of, and general necessity of, なら in the following sentence.
ドイツでは、ウイルスがうつらないように気をつけているなら、店を開くことができます。(from NHK Easy)
* In Germany, businesses may remain open if they ...
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votes
1answer
86 views
How to translate this 点だった知識が線につながることを経験していただけたら幸いです
How should I interpret this?
点だった知識が線につながることを経験していただけたら幸いです
In my mind, mostly it seems like, based on -tara:
If 《 condition 》, then you are fortunate.
Or: when 《 condition 》, I am fortunate.
On ...
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vote
1answer
101 views
What does '練習しなければ' mean on its own?
I found the following sentence in a Japanese textbook:
"明日の試合に勝ちたいなら、きっと練習しなければ。
If you want to win tomorrow's game, you must practice."
This was in a section to do with なら, there was no ...
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0answers
59 views
Difference between しゃべんだったら and しゃべったら？
I’ve stumbled upon the sentence しゃべんだったら, which was translated as “if you are talking”. I get it’s the past conditional, but then why wouldn’t you say しゃべったら or like why does it say んだった?
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1answer
121 views
Is it considered natural to use ども (in the context of 'even if') in written or spoken Japanese today?
A beautiful thought by 小林先生 in 窓ぎわのトットちゃん is conveyed as follows:
世に恐るべきものは、目あれど美を知らず、耳あれども楽を聴かず、心あれども真を解せず。。。の類である。
I haven't seen this usage of ども much. How natural is it to use this form in ...
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0answers
25 views
Wich Conditional sounds more natural? [duplicate]
I've learned that we can express "if" by using 「と」,「なら」, by conjugating the verb such as in 「食べる」-> 「食べれば」, and by conjugating in the past and adding 「ら」 such as 「食べる」->「食べたら」. Wich one of this four ...
4
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1answer
79 views
Can ば conditional form be interpreted as a conjunction? [duplicate]
I was just introduced a new grammar point, the も~も construction as shown on https://core6000.neocities.org/dojg/. I understand the main function of も and how it is the inclusionary particle and I can ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Why is this 頼んでたら and not 頼んだら in this sentence?
I've come across this construction before and never not anything of it but after coming across a sentence in a light novel I am reading, やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている, I started to wonder why this conditional ...
7
votes
1answer
184 views
ものを and conditional
I read the following sentence while learning about ~ものを:
すぐに病院へ行けばいいものを、行かないで悪化させてしまった。
Which I would translate into (probably not perfectly natural English, but something like that):
Though it ...
2
votes
1answer
136 views
~てからでなければ vs ～なければ
I'm learning the ～てからでなければ... grammar pattern, which my textbook defines as:
Until/unless ~ happens or is done, ... cannot happen or be done either. Used in negating or negative statements.
One of ...
2
votes
1answer
123 views
How is したら acting in this sentence: こいつからしたら当然の反応だが
Can anyone help me find out what したら is doing in this sentence:
くそ。こいつからしたら当然の反応だが
I assume こいつから to be "from these guys", 当然の反応 to be "natural response" and だが to be "but/however".
Now for ...
6
votes
2answers
315 views
Use of ら conditional form plus なら
I need some help with the grammar in this sentence:
ボストンに居たらなら、何で会いに来なかったんだい。
I understand the conditional -たら form and the なら conditional alone. But I have not seen the two together.
Does the ...
4
votes
1answer
129 views
Difference between ほど and かぎり
I read the following sentence in an exercise:
私たちの目標は競争に打ち勝つことでもなければお金を儲けることでもありません。可能な____すごい製品を作ることだ。
A. あまり、B. ほど、C. はず、D. かぎり
The correct answer was D, but I picked B.
I understand the sentence ...
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0answers
102 views
How can I use the conditional ～ば and desiderative ～たい together?
I think the title is self-explanatory.
I've been wondering how to combine the desiderative (たい) and the conditional (えば/たら).
For example, if I want to say "Excuse me, what should I do if I want to ...
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1answer
71 views
Help a translating this phrase
I was reading a manga and the grammar of this phrase kinda confused me:
今日三条くんの会社からなかったことにしてくれって連絡あったらしくて。
For context, the character is saying this to a second character about a third character's ...
2
votes
1answer
269 views
What does「電車に乗ってたらなんだっていうんだろね」mean in this context?
For context, in the light novel Hige wo Soru, Soshite Joshikousei wo Hirou's chapter 12:
the main character Yoshida leaves for work and his friend Sayu is left alone at their apartment. He's thought ...
2
votes
1answer
107 views
How to say “if a is happening or b is happening” using たら?
If I wanted to say:
If I am cooking or washing clothes, please help.
料理をしている[or]洗濯していたら、手伝ってください。
I know sometimes か is used to mean "or", but wouldn't that be confused with the question of ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
The usage of ～ば
I know that ば is to indicate that "if A happens, B will happen too".
So, today, I've listened a song and it says:
I gotta believe
I don't wanna know 下手な真実なら
I don't wanna know 知らないくらいがいいのに
...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
Is V-て + は used to connect the two clauses of the following sentence with a conditional relationship, a causal relationship or a different one?
I came across the following sentence in my textbook when studying the grammar point Verb -て + ばかり + いる.
「そんなに働いてばかりいては病気になりますよ。」
The role of ばかり is clear, I just included it to give context and keep ...
6
votes
1answer
92 views
Uncertain event + ならissue
I'm studying なら conditional form now and cannot understand the following:
In a "Dictionary of basic japanese grammar" there is a note that s1ならs2 (s=sentence) could not be used when: 1) s1 never fails ...
3
votes
0answers
220 views
～ば vs ～ていれば in counterfactual conditionals
In l'électeur's answer here, he claims (with such confidence that he bolds the belief) that the correct way to say the English sentence
"If I had turned right back then, I wonder what would have ...
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vote
0answers
62 views
Clarification of -たら context [duplicate]
I read the following sentence on the BBC Japanese site:
「そうしたら温かいものに触れて、直感的に下を見たら、小さな赤ちゃんの頭と両腕が見えた」
Until now I understood the -たら form only to mean "if", but the 見たら in this sentence indicates that ...
3
votes
1answer
121 views
Can a clause ending in ば be translated to “when”?
My question stems from item 4 and 5 in this picture, which is taken from a textbook of advanced Japanese reading. These two items fell into the normal present tense in English. In English, it would be ...
2
votes
1answer
177 views
General conditional (-えば form) expressing something without supposition or back thought?
I found a resource which says the -eba form is a form used to express a conditional without supposition or back thought.
I didn't find any others resources that spoke about the same thing. Is this a ...
3
votes
1answer
342 views
Negative (te-form) + しまう
I'm translating a song and came across this line:
感じなくなっちゃえばいい
At first I thought it was:
感じる in negative te-form + しまう in conditional ば form + いい
But I think there's something wrong ...
4
votes
1answer
177 views
Does the use of ていたら in the first clause require it in the second?
From my JLPT N1 grammar text, explaining special uses of the ている form, in describing 事実に反すること; the text explains that ている marks the sentence more emphatically as non-reality, than the use of 過去形. ...
4
votes
1answer
103 views
Should I use と or たら in that case? [duplicate]
I've got a task in uni today to put either と or たら. And there's a sentence I can't comprehend:
箸で食べて（みると、みたら）どうですか。
I don't quite understand which form I have to use here, so it would be great if I ...
3
votes
1answer
99 views
How to express conditional prefernces: “If you like X, I think you will like Y”
I'm trying to say "If you like men in suits, I think you will like the U.K.," but I'm struggling with it.
This is my attempt so far:
「あなたがスーツの男の人が好きであればあなたがイギリスきっと気に入ると思います。」
(1) Is this ...
3
votes
1answer
141 views
Is this と quotative or conditional?
調べた会社は「ルールがなくなると、就職する会社を探すための時間が長くなって、一生懸命勉強できなくなると心配する学生もいます。...」と話しています。
The investigating company says "If they get rid of the rules then the time to find a company who is hiring will get longer ...
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1answer
85 views
How do you translate 作ってみたら in 妹がチーズドックを作ってみたら兄がwwww?
It would seem to me the sentence says "little sister makes cheese dokku (whatever that food is) and .. big brother ... ?
I can't understand 作ってみたら . Is みたら the tara conditional form of 見る? Is it ...
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vote
2answers
99 views
Strange use of conditional たら
I'm having trouble making sense of the sentence below. (It's taken from 『いつかこの恋を思い出してきっと泣いてしまう』.) I would appreciate anyone's help.
休み取れたんだったら、有給取ったのに
私これからぎゅうぎゅうの地下鉄乗るっちゃん
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votes
2answers
182 views
What is the function of もし？
I know that もし translates to "if", but I dont know exactly when or how it should be used. I was reading Yoko Hasegawa's Japanese: a linguistic introduction. In the chapter on conditional clauses, some ...
5
votes
1answer
638 views
Is it grammatically correct to use もし and/or 〜ば form along with the 〜たい form to convey desire in a conditional clause?
My impression when using conditionals, most of the time, you lose the ability to express desire. For example, when conjugating to -たら、you have to use the past tense of the verb. Is it grammatically ...
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vote
1answer
154 views
Can you say Dekiba
Can you say Dekiba as in Dekiru (to do) + ば (the suffix for 'be able to do'), so that dekiba becomes 'if you are able to'?
2
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1answer
76 views
what is してき in this sentence?
I tried looking up a similar example to this sentence, but i couldn't:
図鑑読んで出直してきな . this isn't the whole sentence, the first part ends with たら conditional.
3
votes
1answer
453 views
trouble understanding usage of なければ in this case
I'm sorry if this is too specific or unclear, if it's a bad question i can delete it. I'm really unclear on how なければ is functioning here, and how と in this case is functioning after 子どもたち. (also i'm ...
3
votes
2answers
704 views
English 2nd and 3rd conditional in Japanese
I have recently been trying to learn how to translate 2nd and 3rd conditional sentences accurately into Japanese, but didn't found a clear, detailed answer. By gathering different bits, it seems that ...
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votes
1answer
72 views
Confusion about conditional だと used in article about beetle
I was reading this article and I am not too sure about sentence I came across.
男の子は「... 珍しいカブトムシだとわかってとてもうれしいです」と話していました。
I have a few problem areas here. I read it as: The boy said 'If the beetle ...
2
votes
3answers
536 views
How to translate 「こうなれば」
I'm trying to figure out what こうなれば/こうなりゃ means in the sentence
仲間を呼ばれた！こうなりゃ一匹ずつ潰していくまでだ。
なれば ＝ それだから。したがって。
The Google fish says こうなれば ＝ "in this way," but it seems like it should be translated ...
5
votes
2answers
173 views
Colloquial contraction “出しゃ[あ]” [duplicate]
I encountered this sentence.
なめんなよ。てめえみていな雑魚、おれが本気をだしゃあ…
I believe the context is quite obvious: The speaker feels stronger than his enemy, the listener. From how I understand it, I’d translate ...
1
vote
1answer
111 views
Question with only 〜ば conditional
In a novel I encountered a question that consists only from a 〜ば conditional. The speaker doesn’t want to go downstairs and is suggesting someone else to do that for him:
「降りれば？」
The meaning is ...
0
votes
1answer
108 views
Conditionals: と良いだ/です should be wrong?
It is said that the と conditional must not be used where the main clause expresses any of the following: an intention, a suggestion, a command, an obligation, a request, etc. However, I've encountered ...
4
votes
1answer
177 views
Meaning of 噂を聞かないと思ったら
In a manga, two American boxers are talking about a guy they used to know who now lives in Japan.
Boxer A: あのブルドッグがリングに上がるって本当かよ。
Boxer B: ああ。ここ数年噂を聞かねェと思ったらボクサーになってたんだよ。日本でな。
I think 数年〜...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Question about this use of the conditional form
I'm trying to understand an exchange:
A: まともに行ってもここを通り抜けるのはキツイがな
B: 見りゃぁわかるぜ
In this case person B starts their sentence with a contraction of the conditional form of 見る, but I'm not sure why. It's ...
