Unit 4 - Section 3: Volitional Form Changes

Practice Quiz

Conditional Sentence (If...)

Learn to express conditional statements in Japanese. Essential for expressing hypothetical situations, requirements, and cause-effect relationships.

The ～たら Form (If / When)

Formation: Take the past tense and replace だ with ら

verb た → たら (if)

  • 来た → 来たら (if came) - kita → kitara
  • 飲んだ → 飲んだら (if drank) - nonda → nondara
  • 読んだ → 読んだら (if read) - yonda → yondara
  • 食べた → 食べたら (if ate) - tabeta → tabetara

～たら Uses

1. Real Conditional / When:

Likely to happen or will happen

雨あめが降ったら、家いえに居います。
[Ame ga futtara, ie ni imasu]
Translation: If it rains, I'll stay home.
2. Hypothetical / Suppose:

Imagining a situation

もし宝たからが見みつかったら、何なにをしますか。
[Moshi takara ga mitsukattara, nani wo shimasu ka]
Translation: If you found treasure, what would you do?

Other Conditional Forms

ば Form (If): More formal conditional

Conjugation: adjective/verb stem + ば

  • 雨が降れば、家に居ます。 - "If it rains, I'll stay home." (formal/written)
  • 来れば、大喜びします。 - "If you come, I'll be delighted."
～なら (If / In case that): Topic conditional

Often used for "if that's the case / if you say so"

  • 忙しいなら、来なくてもいい。 - "If you're busy, you don't have to come."
  • そうなら、手伝いましょう。 - "If that's the case, I'll help."

Conditional Comparison

Form Example Usage
～たら 来たら呼ぶ Most common; realistic
～ば 来れば呼ぶ Formal; written language
～なら 来るなら呼ぶ Topic condition; "if you're coming"

Example Sentences

試験しけんに合ごうかったら、祝いわいに行きましょう。
[Shiken ni goukattara, iwai ni ikimashō]
Translation: If you pass the exam, let's go celebrate.
時間じかんがあったら、公園に散歩しに行きます。
[Jikan ga attara, kouen ni sanpo shi ni ikimasu]
Translation: If I have time, I'll go for a walk in the park.
風かぜが吹ふいたら、傘を持って行こう。
[Kaze ga fuitara, kasa wo motte ikou]
Translation: If it's windy, let's take an umbrella.

Study Tips

Master Conditionals:
  • Most useful: ～たら is most common in casual/spoken Japanese
  • Formation: Take past tense and replace だ with ら
  • Common phrase: ～たら、～ます (if...then...) is very frequent pattern
  • Practice scenarios: Create if-then sentences about daily situations
  • Listen for it: Conditional expressions appear constantly in conversations
Course Navigation
Study Tips
  • Read each example carefully
  • Practice pronunciation aloud
  • Create your own sentences to reinforce memory
  • Finish the section quiz