Structure
Verb+(の)+なら(ば)
[い]Adjective+(の)+なら(ば)
[な]Adjective+なら(ば)
Noun+なら(ば)
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Standard
About なら
As mentioned in our lesson about ば, なら is often used by itself to mean 'if'. This is considered to be an abbreviation of ならば, the hypothetical form of なり, a classical auxiliary verb that is not used much in modern Japanese.
Because なり originally meant 'to be', it functions in a similar way to the auxiliary verb だ. This means that it regularly pairs with nouns, or phrases that have been nominalized (become noun-like), through the use of の.
However, unlike だ (or です), なら is also regularly used without the extra help of の for nominalization, and can be attached directly to verbs or い-Adjectives.
Caution
Because なら is an abbreviation of ならば, it is strictly used when making guesses about what 'may', or what 'could' happen in certain situations. This means that it will not be used as 'if' in statements about results that are produced through some sort of effort/training.
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練習をするなら、漢字を書くのが上手になる。If you are going to practice, you will get good at writing kanji. (Unnatural Japanese, as becoming 'good' is a natural result of practicing)
Fun Fact
Although なら comes from the classical auxiliary verb なり, it should not be confused with the particle なり, which often has the meaning of 'as soon as', or 'just after'. Thankfully, the particle なり is also quite uncommon in modern Japanese.
Synonyms
ば
If… then, (Conditional)
Not studied yet
こそ
For sure, For certain, Even more so, Underlined or bolded text
Not studied yet
ばあいは
In the event of, In the case of
Not studied yet
としたら・とすれば・とすると
If it were the case that, Assuming that...
Not studied yet
たら
When, From when, Just when, If
Not studied yet
もし
If (For emphasis)
Not studied yet
もしも~なら・もしも~でも
If, Supposing
Not studied yet
と
If, When, Whenever, And, [Conditional]
Not studied yet
Examples
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君なら、できる。
If it's you, you can do it. (if it is the case)
そういうことなら、聞かなくていい。
If it's something like that, you don't have to ask. (in the case of)
宿題が難しいなら、一緒にしよう。
If the homework is hard, let's do it together. (if it is the case)
また行くなら、帰って来ないでください。
If you are going to go again, please don't come back. (in the case of)
暑いなら、扇風機を点けてください。
If it's the case that it is hot, please turn on the fan.
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How to use なら
MaggieSensei
PART③ なら┃"IF" (conditional と vs たら vs なら) Differences
Japanese Ammo [video]
Conditionals in Japanese
Wasabi
Reading practice たら vs. なら
nihongo day by day
Differences among -たら、なら、-んだったら、-えば, etc
Japanese StackExchange
Offline
Genki II 2nd Edition
Page 34
みんなの日本語 II
Page 66 [CH 35]
Tobira
Page 69
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 281
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 134
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なら – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (20 in total)
nekoyama
もし can be used with hypotheticals to reinforce that nuance. Reinforcing that something is hypothetical means you’re less certain about it. For example, you’ll often see もし in expressions like “もしよかったら…” because the speaker doesn’t want to presume how the other party feels.
If we’re comparing なら and たら only, then the biggest difference is that the sequence of events is reversed.
In “AたらB”, event B occurs after event A. “Once/when/if A happens, then B.”
In “AならB”, event A can occur after event B but not before it. “If A is/were/will be the case, then B”.I found this example on Amazon (as a sticker):
飲んだら乗るな - don’t drive if you drank something
乗るなら飲むな - if you’re going to drive, don’t drinkFrom a learne...
onekun
This reply is an excellent resource, I think I got the basic difference down, but I’ll reference it if I ever get confused. Bookmarked.
So would you use と and ば instead? How would you construct that?
I would ask what the nuance is with と vs ば, but it’d fit better in one of their respective threads and I could almost infinitely ask about nuance so I don’t want to kill you with grammar questions, haha.
nekoyama
I’ll just steal the example from the page I linked:
夏休みになると、母の実家によく行ったもんだ。
夏休みになれば、母の実家によく行ったもんだ。This is something the speaker used to do often during summer vacation - not just once.
(There is a separate grammar point for how もの is used in this sentence to express something that used to happen in the past.)
It’s not strictly necessary to use a conditional - e.g. the たものだ grammar point’s examples just use 夏休みは etc.
In general terms, when both ば and と can be used, the nuance difference is that ば focuses on the condition (and how to make it true) while と focuses on the result.
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