Grammar II - 18.03

(2023) ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ЯЗЫКОВ | ЯЗЫКИ ВОСТОКА | ЯПОНСКИЙ III/433

Languages Study | Languages of the East | Japanese III

АУДИО 433 | GRAMMAR II - 18.03 : ~to

Grammar II - 18.03

～と	~to
	The present tense short form of a predicate + と means whenever a situation described by the predicate holds, another thing happens. In most と sentences, the first clause describes the cause, and the second the effect.
私はその人と話すと元気になる。	Whenever I talk with that person, I feel uplifted.
watashi-wa sono hito-to hanasu to, genki-ni naru.
道が込んでいると時間がかかる。	Whenever the streets are crowded, it takes longer to get there.
michi-ga konde-iru to, jikan-ga kakaru.

clause A (short, present) to clause B	Form: Whenever A happens, B happens too.

	Sometimes, a to sentence describes a cause-effect relationship between specific events.
メアリーさんが国に帰るとさびしくなります。	If Mary goes back home, we will be sad and lonely.
mearii-san-ga kuni-ni kaeru to sabishiku narimasu.

	While the clause that comes before to is always in the present tense, the second clause can be in the present or in the past tense.
私は子供の時、冬になると風邪をひきました。	When I was young, whenever winter arrived, I caught a cold.
watashi wa kodomo-no toki, fuyu-ni naru to kaze-o hikimashita.

	The event described by the second clause must follow the event described in the first half of the sentence. Thus it is wrong to say:
私はその人と話すと喫茶店に行きます。	Whenever I talk with that person, we go to a coffee shop.
watashi-wa sono hito-to hanasu to, kissaten-ni ikimasu.
	If you want an adjective idea in the second clause, it is usually expressed as a change. It is very common therefore to find in the second clause an i-adjective base + ku-naru, and a na-adjective base + ni-naru (see Lesson 10 for adjective + naru).
秋になると木が赤くなります。	Whenever fall arrives, trees turn red.
aki-ni naru to, ki-ga akaku narimasu.
夜になると町が静かになります。	Whenever night comes, the town becomes quiet.
yoru-ni naru to, machi-ga shizuka-ni narimasu.