Japanese from zero · N3 Lesson 30

If that's the case

〜としたら / 〜とすれば / 〜とすると・〜といい / 〜たらいい・〜ばいい・もしも〜たら・そのために

In this lesson, you will learn to suppose something and say what follows, to say what you hope for, to give simple advice, to make an 'if' stronger with もしも, and to point back to a goal or a cause with そのために. At the shrine on the second day of the New Year, Tanaka tells his friends some big news.

By the end you will be able to say

シアトルに行くとしたら、うちに来ればいいよ。If you're going to Seattle, you can just come to our place.

シアトルでいいともだちができるといいね。I hope you make good friends in Seattle.

どうすればいいですか。What should I do?

もしも困ったら、電話してください。If by any chance you're in trouble, please call me.

大学に受かりたい。そのために、毎日勉強しています。I want to get into the university. For that, I study every day.

The grammar in this lesson

〜としたら / 〜とすれば / 〜とすると — if (we suppose) — Plain form + としたら, とすれば or とすると means 'if we suppose that…, then…'.
〜といい / 〜たらいい — I hope; it would be nice if — Plain form + といい, or the たら form + いい, says what you hope will happen.
〜ばいい — you can just; you should — The ば form + いい gives simple advice: 来ればいい (you can just come).
もしも〜たら — if, by any chance — もしも at the start of a 〜たら sentence makes the 'if' stronger: if, by some chance…
そのために — for that; because of that — そのために starts a sentence and points back to the one before: 'for that goal' or 'because of that'.