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JLPT N4Conditionals

たら— The versatile conditional (once / if / when)

The most versatile conditional, formed by adding ら to the past (た-)form. It means roughly 'once X happens, then Y,' enforcing a timeline where the first action completes before the second. It also handles 'if' and past discoveries ('when I did X, I found Y').

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A short lesson: the pattern, its sentence anatomy, a quick quiz and a sentence to build.

Pro lessonUNIT 62 · CONDITIONALS

Structure · 形

[Verb / い-adj た-form] + ら | [な-adj / Noun + だった] + ら

Examples · 例文

  • 家に着いたら電話してください。

    Ie ni tsuitara denwa shite kudasai.

    Once you get home, please call me.

    着いた (arrived) + ら (once that's complete)

  • 冷蔵庫を開けたら、ケーキがなかった。

    Reizouko wo aketara, keeki ga nakatta.

    When I opened the fridge, the cake was gone.

    discovery: doing A led me to find B (both clauses past)

  • 安かったら、買いたい。

    Yasukattara, kaitai.

    If it's cheap, I want to buy it.

    安かった (い-adj past) + ら = conditional 'if'

Usage notes · 注意

  • The flexible one: unlike ば and と, たら freely allows commands, requests, and desires in the second clause (安かったら買いたい), so it's the safe default for 'if.'
  • Discovery rule: if both halves are past tense (開けたら、なかった), it means 'when X happened, I discovered Y,' not 'if.'
  • Time sequencing: A must finish before B — たら can't be used for two simultaneous actions.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones たら is tested against.

vsば

ば is the general/hypothetical 'if' and dislikes commands or requests in the main clause. たら has no such restriction and adds a 'once A is done, then B' sequence.

vsと

と states an automatic/inevitable result ('whenever A, B') and can't take requests or volition after it. たら allows will, requests, and one-time events.

vsなら

なら responds to a topic/supposition someone raised ('if that's the case, if you're talking about X'), and B can precede A in time. たら requires A to happen before B.

More conditionals

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