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JLPT N4Conditionals

と— If/When (Automatic-Result Conditional)

Expresses an automatic or inevitable consequence: whenever A happens, B naturally/always follows. Used for natural laws, operating instructions, and directions.

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Pro lessonUNIT 78 · CONDITIONALS

Structure · 形

[Plain non-past verb] + と + [natural result]

Examples · 例文

  • 春になると、桜が咲く。

    Haru ni naru to, sakura ga saku.

    When spring comes, the cherry blossoms bloom.

    なる + と = a natural/seasonal automatic result

  • このボタンを押すと、ドアが開く。

    Kono botan o osu to, doa ga aku.

    When you press this button, the door opens.

    押す + と = automatic result of the operation

  • この道をまっすぐ行くと、右に銀行があります。

    Kono michi o massugu iku to, migi ni ginkou ga arimasu.

    If you go straight down this road, there's a bank on the right.

    行く + と = automatic result, used for giving directions

Usage notes · 注意

  • と cannot be followed by a request, command, or invitation in the second clause (use たら for those).
  • 右に曲がると、駅があります = if you turn right, there's a station (giving directions).
  • Great for: operating manuals, recipes, directions, and general truths.

Commonly confused with

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

vsたら

たら is the most flexible conditional and CAN take a request/command/invitation afterward (着いたら電話して). と cannot — it only states an automatic result.

vsば

ば is hypothetical/general ('if') and often used with states; と stresses an inevitable, repeatable A→B result and only takes plain non-past before it.

vsなら

なら responds to a topic just raised ('if that's the case / speaking of X'); と gives an automatic consequence, not a contextual response.

More conditionals

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