Grammar Info
N3 Lesson 9: 15/22

できれば
If possible

Structure
できれば + Phrase
できたら + Phrase
Details
Register Standard
使用域 一般
Information
Remembering that する has no potential form, the replacement る - Verb できる ‘to amount to’ will often be used in conjunction with particles, to indicate whether the possibility of amounting to something exists. The 接続助詞(せつぞくじょし) (conjunction particles) or たら will most frequently be used. できれば and できたら are usually translated simply as ‘if possible’.
Both できれば and できたら will come at the start of a sentence, before the following statement will express some (desired) outcome.
  • 出来(でき)れば車(くるま)行(い)きたいけど、電車(でんしゃ)行(い)った方(ほう)早(はや)いかもしれない
    If possible, I would love to go by car, but it might be faster by train.
  • 出来(でき)たら薬局(やっきょく)に行(い)って頭痛(ずつう)薬(やく)買(か)って来(き)てくれる
    If possible, can you go to the chemist and buy me some headache medication?
Caution
As and たら are to the only ‘hypothetical’ indicators that can express the process toward potential outcomes, using なら or と would be be illogical. This can be visualized as follows:
(A) できると - Will express the result after achieving (A), not what is required to get there.
(A) できるなら - As なら is just the 仮定形(かていけい) (hypothetical form) of だ, It is used to make guesses about what could happen if the situation of (A) exists, not how that situation can be used to produce some other result.
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できればお弁当(べんとう)を作(つく)って欲(ほ)しいな。
If possible, I would like you to make me a bento.
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できれば本人(ほんにん)と会(あ)って話(はなし)がしたい。
If possible, I would like to talk with him directly.
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それできたら嬉(うれ)しいんですけど。
If it's possible for you to do that, I would appreciate it.
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