Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 8: 1/18

たらWhen, From when, Just when, If

Structure

Verb［た］+ ら
［い］Adjective［た］+ ら
［な］Adjective + だった + ら
Noun + だった + ら

Details

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About たら

The conjunction particle たら is used as a kind of 'halfway point' between 'if' and 'when' in Japanese. It expresses the completion of an (A) action, and then a (B) action that is considered to be the result of (A). It may be hypothetical, or it may be presenting a one-time result of something that happened in the past.

To use たら, it will replace た in the simple past form of verbs, い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives, and nouns.

Caution

Despite appearing to be the past form of the word that it is attached to, たら itself does not actually carry the nuance of 'past'. Other words in the sentence will need to be examined to see whether たら is truly highlighting something from the past, or simply the completion of something (which may or may not happen in the future).

  • 来週(らいしゅう)だったら、いけるよ。
    If it is next week, I can go. (Highlighting a future event)
  • 先週(せんしゅう)だったら行(い)けたのに。
    If it was last week, I could have gone. (Highlighting a past event)

Fun Fact

Although たら is regularly used to mean 'if', it almost always has a nuance of 'when'. This is due to たら specifically highlighting the following situations:

Completion: 完了(かんりょう) - Completion of (A).

Materialization: 成立(せいりつ) - Coming to fruition of (A).

These meanings are opposed to other 'if' structures like ば, and なら, which focus far more strongly on the hypothetical 'if' meaning.

  • 買(か)い物(もの)に行(い)ったら、クッキーを買(か)ってきて。
    When/if you go shopping, please get me some cookies.
  • あなたがその本(ほん)を読(よ)まないなら、私(わたし)が読(よ)みます。
    If you are not going to read that book, I will read it.

Examples

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    勉強(べんきょう)したら、テストは簡単(かんたん)になる。

    When you study, the test will become easy. (if・from when)

    お茶(ちゃ)の味(あじ)が薄(うす)かったら、言(い)ってください。

    Please let me know when the tea is weak. (if・just when)

    もし食(た)べに行(い)きたかったら、行(い)こう。

    If/when you want to go out to eat, let's go! (from when)

    週末(しゅうまつ)だったら、時間(じかん)ありますよ。

    If/when it is the weekend, I have time. (from when・just when)

    辛(から)かったら、牛乳(ぎゅうにゅう)を飲(の)んでください。

    If it is spicy, please drink some milk. (from when・just when)

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      たら – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (35 in total)

      • Warrie

        Warrie

        もし食べに行きたかったら、行こう
        If/when you want to go out to eat, let’s go!

        I can’t figure this one out, despite the explanation earlier in the thread.
        The た in たかったら is from たい, but ‘If you want to’ isn’t past tense, so why is たい conjugated to past tense?

      • IcyIceBear

        IcyIceBear

        Because that’s how たら is used, past tense with a ら

      • Warrie

        Warrie

        Oh my. Completely missed that one. Thank you so much, spent an hour googling for an answer

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