Lesson 76
Ta Form + ra
Simply said, the Ta Form + ra does the same thing as Base 3 + nara (Lesson 35) or Base 4 + ba (Lesson 48): it provides the "if" element for conditionals, but is used more frequently in familiar settings than the other two.
Let's make some examples showing each of these three conditional structures. First, let's review Base 3 + nara:
- Dekakeru nara, kouto ga hitsuyou ni naru deshou. (If you're going out, you'll probably need a coat.)
- Denwa suru nara, kare wa kuru deshou. (If you telephone him, he'll probably come.)
- Ima kodomotachi wa sunakku o taberu nara, o-hiru o tabenai deshou. (If the kids eat a snack now, they probably won't eat lunch.)
Next, we'll convert these to Base 4 + ba:
- Dekakereba, kouto ga hitsuyou ni naru deshou. (If you're going out, you'll probably need a coat.)
- Denwa sureba, kare wa kuru deshou. (If you telephone him, he'll probably come.)
- Ima kodomotachi wa sunakku o tabereba, o-hiru o tabenai deshou. (If the kids eat a snack now, they probably won't eat lunch.)
And here's what they look like using the Ta Form + ra:
- Dekaketara, kouto ga hitsuyou ni naru deshou. (If you're going out, you'll probably need a coat.)
- Denwa shitara, kare wa kuru deshou. (If you telephone him, he'll probably come.)
- Ima kodomotachi wa sunakku o tabetara, o-hiru o tabenai deshou. (If the kids eat a snack now, they probably won't eat lunch.)
Again, this one seems to be preferred in everyday, familiar conversation. I think you'll notice it being used a lot, making it easy to master.
I must add here that not all three conditional forms used in the examples above can be used in all conditional senses. There are always exceptions. Because there are so many possible nuances and contexts, it would be impossible to cover them all in this lesson. There are cases where just one of these will be natural and correct in a given situation. However, the -tara form does appear to be the most preferred in daily conversation.
Incidentally, -tara dame is used a lot for "Don't (do something)" instead of -te wa ikenai (Lesson 70). For example, Ima tabetara dame would be used for "Don't eat now."
Word Check
dekakeru: to go out
hitsuyou ni naru: to be/become necessary
sunakku: a snack (wasei eigo)
o-hiru: lunch
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)
|
