Minna No Nihongo Grammar Lesson 35

Minna No Nihongo Grammar Lesson 35

1. How to make the conditional form

Verb

Group I: Change the last sound of the ます-form into the sound of the え-line and attach ば.

Group II: Attach ればto the ます-form.

Group III: きますbecomesくれば, andします becomesすれば.

い-adj: Change the last いof the い-adjectives into ければ.

な-adj: Delete the last なof the な-adjectives and attach なら.

Noun: Attach ならto the noun.

2. Conditional form

With the use of the conditional form, the former part of the sentence describes the requirements needed for an event or occurrence to manifest itself.

When the subject of the former part is the same as that of the latter, you cannot use verbs containing volition in both parts of the sentence at the same time.

1) When describing the requirements needed for a certain event to manifest itself:

ボタンを押せば、窓が開きます。

If you push the button, the window will open.

彼が行けば、わたしも行きます。

If he goes, I will go, too.

いい天気なら、向こうに島が見えます。

When it is fine, an island can be seen over there.

2) When describing the speaker’s judgement on what the other person has said or the situation:

ほかに意見がなければ、これで終わりましょう。

If you don’t have any other opinions, let’s close this meeting now.

あしたまでにレポートを出さなければなりませんか。

無理なら、金曜日までに出してください。

Do I have to hand in the report by tomorrow?

If it is possible, hand it in by this Friday.

[Note] Similar expressions that you have learned so far:

[1] ～と

～とis used when the result derived from the action described before とis inevitable. It is a predictable event or an unavoidable fact. ～とcannot not be used when it comes to the speaker’s wishes, judgement, permission, hopes, requests, etc.

ここを押すと、ドアが開きます。

Press here, and the door will open.

We can also use ～ば.

ここを押せば、ドアが開きます。

If you press here, the door will open.

[2] ～たら

As you learned in Lesson 25, ～たらhas two usages: (1) it is a conditional expression, and (2) it indicates that an action or state will occur or appear when certain conditions have been met.

時間がなかったら、テレビを見ません。(*)

If I don’t have time, I will not watch television.

時間がなければ、テレビを見ません。(**)

If I don’t have time, I will not watch television.

ｘ 時間がないと、テレビを見ません。

東京へ来たら、ぜひ連絡してください。(***)

ｘ 東京へ来れば、ぜひ連絡してください。

In (*) and (**), ～たらand ～ばcan be used, as unlike ～と, they are followed by expressions reflecting the speaker’s will. In (***), however, only ～たらmay be used because the subjects in the former and the latter denote the same person and both verbs are volitional. Although ～たらhas the widest range of use, as is shown above, it is not usually used in newspaper articles and business reports because it is colloquial.

3. N なら、～

N ならis also used when the speaker takes up the topic introduced by the other person and gives some information on it.

温泉に行きたいんですが、どこかいい所ありませんか。

温泉なら、白馬がいいですよ。

I want to visit a hot spring resort. Don’t you know any good place?

If you are talking about hot springs, Hakuba may be good.

4. Interrogative V conditional form いいですか

This expression is used to ask for directions or suggestions as to the best course of action. It is used in the same way as ～たらいいですかthat you learned in Lesson 26.

本を借りたいんですが、どうすればいいですか。

I would like to borrow some books. What should I do?

本を借りたいんですが、どうしたらいいですか。

I would like to borrow some books. What should I do?

V い-adj な-adj

conditional form

V dictionary form い-adj（～い） な-adjな

ほど～

 

ビートルズの音楽は聞けば聞くほど好きになります。

The more I listen to the music of the Beatles, the better I like it.

パソコンは操作が簡単なら簡単なほどいいです。

The easier of the operation, the better the computer

The same verb or adjective is used in front of both ば/ならand ほどin the same sentence. This pattern expresses that the degree described in the latter part of the sentence increases/decreases with the change of the degree described in the former.

Related Post:
Minna No Nihongo Grammar Lesson 36
Minna No Nihongo Lesson 35 Vocabulary