Noken
es

N5 · Lesson 25

Conditionals

Conditions with 〜たら, concession with 〜ても, and hypotheses with もし.

Grammar

V たら、〜 — "if / when"

V たら、S / A-かったら / N・A-な だったら

Adding ら to the た form makes the conditional: お が あったら、 します (if I had money, I'd travel). It works with adjectives (かったら) and nouns (だったら) too.

Examples

  • If you have time, come and visit us.

  • If it rains, I won't go.

V たら — "when" something is finished

V1 たら、V2 (future)

たら also says V2 will happen once V1 is complete: 10 に なったら、 かけましょう (when it gets to ten, let's go out).

Examples

  • When I go back to my country, I'll work at my father's company.

V ても、〜 — "even if"

V ても / A-くても / N・A-な でも、S

〜ても expresses concession: the result goes against what you would expect. っても、 します (even if it rains, I'll do the laundry); くても いません; でも いません.

Examples

  • I work even on Sundays.

もし — flagging a hypothesis

もし 〜たら、S

もし announces from the start that the sentence is hypothetical and reinforces the 〜たら: もし1 あったら、 を したいですか.

Examples

  • If I had a hundred million yen, I'd want to travel to lots of countries.

The subject of the subordinate clause

S1 (subject が) とき/たら/ても、S2

When the subordinate clause has a different subject from the main clause, it is marked with が: るまえに、 します.

Examples

  • When my wife is ill, I take time off work.

Vocabulary

WordReadingMeaning
to think, to consider
to arrive
to grow old
to be enough
countryside, hometown
opportunity
hundred million
if ~
meaning, sense
hello? (on the phone)
transfer (at work)
thing, matter
free time
thank you for everything
to do one's best
take care (on parting)
Vietnam

See this lesson's vocabulary →

See also