The ren'youkei + たら (tara) is one of several conditional
forms, translated as "if" or "when". Besides
its conditional function, it is often used to describe an assumption,
usually referring to a specific situation, or to an action which
has been completed.
The ren'youkei + たら (tara) can also be used to describe an observation
or conclusion. In this case it can be translated as "Now that
I..." (often encountered as ren'youkei + てみたら (te mitara)),
or as "when" or "while", describing a coincidence
or one-off occurance).
Other uses of the ren'youkei + たら (tara) are asking for permisson
or giving recommendations, while on occasion it can be translated
as "how about...".
The ren'youkei + たら is never found at the end of a sentence. It
always ends the conditional clause, followed by the main clause.
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高かったら買わない。 (Takakattara
kawanai.)
If it's expensive I won't buy it.
説明を読んでみたらすぐ分かります。 (Setsumei wo yonde mitara
sugu wakarimasu.)
When you've read the instructions you will understand.
このようにやったらどうですか。 (Kono you ni yattara
dou desu ka.)
How about if you do it like this?
どうしたらいいでしょうか。 (Dou shitara
ii deshou ka.)
What would be the best way to do this? (Literally: If I do
it how, will it be ok?) |
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Contractions with group 4 verbs and verbal
adjectives
The ren'youkei + たら (tara) of group 4 (or yodan katsuyou)
verbs, undergoes contractions in many cases. For verbal
adjectives the ren'youkei is combined with the verb あったら (attara).
This combination also undergoes a contraction.
Here's one example of how the contractions work:
買い (naku = ren'youkei) → 買い
+たら (kai +tara) → 買ったら
(kattara)
| Ren'youkei ends on: |
-tara form: |
example: |
| ~い (i) |
→ |
~ったら (ttara) |
買う (kau)
buy |
→ |
買ったら (kattara)
when you buy |
| ~き (ki) |
→ |
~いたら (itara) |
書く (kaku)
write |
→ |
書いたら (kaitara)
when you write |
| ~ぎ (gi) |
→ |
~いだら (idara) |
泳ぐ (oyogu)
swim |
→ |
泳いだら (oyoidara)
when you swim |
| ~ち (tsi) |
→ |
~ったら (ttara) |
待つ (matsu)
wait |
→ |
待ったら (mattara)
when you wait |
| ~に (ni) |
→ |
~んだら (ndara) |
死ぬ (shinu)
die |
→ |
死んだら (shindara)
when you die |
| ~び (bi) |
→ |
~んだら (ndara) |
遊ぶ (asobu)
play |
→ |
遊んだら (asondara)
when you play |
| ~み (mi) |
→ |
~んだら (ndara) |
飲む (nomu)
drink |
→ |
飲んだら (nondara)
when you drink |
| ~り (ri) |
→ |
~ったら (ttara) |
入る ④
(hairu)
enter |
→ |
入ったら (haittara)
when you enter |
| |
There is only one exception:
行き (iki = ren'youkei) → 行き
+たら (iki +tara) → 行ったら (ittara)
| Present tense: |
Past tense: |
行く (iku)
go |
→ |
行ったら (ittara)
when you go |
| |
All other group 4 verbs and all group 2 verbs are regular, as are
the irregular verbs する (suru) and 来る (kuru).
| Present tense |
Conditional form |
| 買う |
kau |
買ったら |
kattara |
| 書く |
kaku |
書いたら |
kaitara |
| 泳ぐ |
oyogu |
泳いだら |
oyoidara |
| 出す |
dasu |
出したら |
dashitara |
| 行きます |
ikimasu |
行きましたら |
ikimashitara |
| 待つ |
matsu |
待ったら |
mattara |
| 死ぬ |
shinu |
死んだら |
shindara |
| 遊ぶ |
asobu |
遊んだら |
asondara |
| 飲む |
nomu |
飲んだら |
nondara |
| 入る ④ |
hairu |
入ったら |
haittara |
 |
| 行く |
iku |
行ったら |
ittara |
 |
| いる |
iru |
いたら |
itara |
| 食べる |
taberu |
食べたら |
tabetara |
| 出る |
deru |
出たら |
detara |
| 見る |
miru |
見たら |
mitara |
 |
| する |
suru |
したら |
shitara |
| 来る |
kuru |
来たら |
kitara |
だ (da)
The conditional form of だ (da) is だったら (dattara). だったら
is a contraction of であったら (de attara).
| Present tense |
Conditional form |
| ある |
aru |
あったら |
attara |
| である |
de aru |
であったら |
de attara |
| だ |
da |
だったら |
dattara |
| です |
desu |
でしたら |
deshitara |
Verbal
adjectives
The ~たら (-tara) form of verbal adjectives is formed by
adding あったら (attara) to the ren'youkei conjugation. This combination
then undergoes the following contraction:
なく (naku = ren'youkei) → なく
+あったら (naku +attara) →
なかったら (nakattara)
| Present tense |
Conditional form |
| 高い |
takai |
高かったら |
takakattara |
| 大きい |
ookii |
大きかったら |
ookikattara |
| 新しい |
atarashii |
新しかったら |
atarashikattara |
| 小さい |
chiisai |
小さかったら |
chiisakattara |
Related pages:
Rentaikei
+ と (to)
Rentaikei
+ なら (nara)
Ren'youkei
+ ては (te wa)
Izenkei
+ ば (ba)
Conditional
forms |