Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 1: 2/22

といいIt would be nice if, It would be good if, Should, I hope

Structure

Verb[たら]+ いい
Verb[ば]+ いい
Verb + + いい


[い]Adjective[た]+ ら+ いい
[い]Adjective[+ けれ+ いい
[い]Adjective + + いい


[な]Adjective + だった + ら+ いい
[な]Adjective + であれば+ いい
[な]Adjective + + といい

Details

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    Standard

About たらいい・といい

When any of the conjunction particles that carry the meaning of 'if' (たら, , or ) are paired with the い-Adjective, いい, they will express the desired result of the speaker. These all translate to 'it would be nice if (A)'. However, the speaker's level of certainty about the result being 'good' will change slightly, depending on the particle.

ばいい - Hypothetically, (A) happening would be good. (Lowest strength/certainty)

たらいい - When (A) happens, it will be good. (Medium strength/certainty)

といい - The result of (A) is good. (Strongest/most certain)

To use , たら, or with いい, first add the conjunction particle to the end of any verb, and then attach the い-Adjective, いい.

Antonyms


Examples

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    毎日(まいにち)()きな番組(ばんぐみ)()れたらいい

    It would be nice if I could watch my favorite TV show everyday.

    自由(じゆう)したらいいでしょう。

    It would be nice to just do whatever you want, wouldn't it?

    明日(あした)明後日(あさって)()れるといいですね。

    It would be nice if the weather was clear tomorrow and the day after, wouldn't it?

    文句(もんく)()わないで!どうしたらいいのか(おし)えてよ。

    Stop complaining! Tell me what would be good to do!

    (ぼく)もイルカみたいに上手(じょうず)(およ)げたらいいのに。

    I wish I could swim well like a dolphin. (it would be good if...)

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たらいい・といい – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (17 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    English translation:
    it would be nice if, should, I hope

    Structure:
    Verb[た]・ら + いい
    Verb + と・いい

    View on Bunpro

  • megatron0000

    megatron0000

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    It should be accepted. Fixing it now.

  • conan

    conan

    This grammar point accepts these two forms as possible answers as well:
    https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/195
    https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/196

    But neither of the three are listed under each other’s “Related” grammar section.

  • kozmegegyezes

    kozmegegyezes

    Hey! Because it’s advice for others, I tried to use たほうがいい but my answer was rejected.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey

    たほうがいい sounds natural in this example, but it is a bit more forceful.

    It is now accepted,
    Cheers!

    Very short explanation:
    Aばよかった、means if I did A, it would have been good. It is used when you regret something, and you describe the hypothetical alternative which you should have chosen back then.
    Something like, I should have bought a bitcoin.(I regret it, because I would be rich now).

    ばいい/たらいい
    Is used to give the most emphatic advice. It is often used when asking for advice as どうすればいい?
    (what is a good thing to do?)

    Sentence:
    合格したいのなら勉強すればいい。

    たらどう(たらどうですか)
    Is also used when giving advice or more like a suggestion, but it might be interpreted as rude(reproach!) because ...

  • Melanthe

    Melanthe

    I just noticed Tobira presents this grammar point as 〜たらいいのに, emphasising the fact it expresses a (usually) counterfactual wish. Does it matter much that this grammar point leaves out のに?

  • Evueimeimei

    Evueimeimei

    Are たらいい and といい always interchangeable? I’m not finding anything in the readings that says when to use one versus the other.

  • Daigo

    Daigo

    I’m interested in knowing this as well. Tried to use たらいい but got prompted for といい

  • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    Do you remember the specific example sentence? These are usually interchangeable, but Bunpro might’ve included some particles (e.g. が、な、ね) in the sentence that lean it toward ~といい and the sense of hoping or wishing for a given outcome. That’s the only nuance that comes to mind.

  • Daigo

    Daigo

  • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    OK, yeah, this is one of those patterns that can tend toward ~といい due to the way と expresses natural consequence, in a way that だら doesn’t. The たらいい・といい grammar point doesn’t discuss this, but the といい one does. Thing is, that entry even says といい tends more strongly toward, “I hope,” or, “I wish.” They’ve translated it, “It would be nice if … wouldn’t it?” here. It does seem like something is slightly out of sync. I think a better translation would probably be, “I hope the weather tomorrow and the day after will be clear.” That’s based on the information provided in the といい grammar point.

    If you encounter this sentence again, I would definitely report it, and point back to this discussion here. Sometimes things slip through the cracks like this. Or maybe one of the staff can point out why this sentence is an exception.

  • Daru

    Daru

    Hey! This is definitely weird. I’ll bring it up to discussion with the content team. Thank you for pointing it out!

  • RadicalC

    RadicalC

    Just started learning these today. Some questions:

    1. When you use たらいい does it also carry the property of meaning of when/after? am I understanding it right?
    2. Also, seems there not a ならいい version huh?
    3. If you use よくない or like maybe じゃないか is that how you turn it into “would it be nice if?”

    ビールを飲むように早く二十日になったらいいな
    It’d be great if I could be 20 right away and drink beer.
    やっと日本に行ってあなたと会ったらいい
    It’d be great to finally go to japan and meet you.

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey there @RadicalC !

    1. Since たら has the nuance of ‘if’, たらいい has the nuance of ‘it would be nice if’
    2. Since なら has the nuance of ‘if that were the case’, ならいい has the nuance of ‘if (A) were the case, that would be good’. Due to this difference in nuance ならいい cannot be used like たらいい・といい.
    3. Using よくない would change the nuance from ‘it would be nice if’ to ‘don’t you think it would be nice if’. Adding じゃないか would change the nuance to ‘wouldn’t it be nice if’.

    I hope this answers your question!

  • RadicalC

    RadicalC

    Thank you, so it can never mean after/when when used with this grammar? in the たら variant

  • Vl3x0083

    Vl3x0083

    Ok, so in the practice sentences you get while cramming, what determines whether ばいい is a valid answer or not? Because there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it that I can figure out. The lesson description sounds nice with

    ばいい - Hypothetically, (A) happening would be good. (Lowest strength/certainty)
    たらいい - When (A) happens, it will be good. (Medium strength/certainty)
    といい - The result of (A) is good. (Strongest/most certain)

    but it seems like that immediately goes out the window.

    ex.

    毎日、好きな番組が見れたらいいです。(見れる)
    毎日、好きな番組が見れるといいです。
    毎日、好きな番組が見れればいいです。
    自由にしたらいいでしょう。(する)
    自由にするといいでしょう。
    自由にすればいいでしょう。

    all valid

    明日と明後日も晴れたらいいですね。(晴れる)
    明日と明後日も晴れるといいですね。
    いつかまたどこかで会えたらいいね。(会える)
    いつかまたどこかで会えるといいね。
    どの道を行ったらいいのかもっと詳しく教えてください。(行く)
    どの道を行くといいのかもっと詳しく教えてください。

    only たらいい and といい are valid

    辛すぎて、何を言ったらいいか...

  • casual

    casual

    Hmm, difficult.

    This one seems to fall under “asking for directions” usage, so I’d expect it to be allowed

    どの道を行けばいいのかもっと詳しく教えてください。

    This one seems to match the allowed usage from Caution section of ばいい (JLPT N3) | Bunpro

    僕もイルカみたいに上手に泳げればいいのに。

    As for a possible pattern, 【35課】教案:条件形、Nなら(話題) - 日本語教師のN1et (section 条件(と・ば・たら・なら)の基礎知識) separates ば usages for regular/constant situations and for conditional situations, with the latter having a few restrictions on usage. Could be related to that.

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