日本語のおしゃべり

Japanese Language
「Particles」

「To・と」
「Part 3」

Follows verbs and adjectives to form a conditional: "if, unless, whether or not."

「１」

To・と can be used to indicate a second action that follows immediately upon the preceding action; often identified by the use of sugu (immediately, right away): "as soon as."

Examples:
朝起きるとすぐ、カーテンを開けます。
​Asa okiru to sugu, kāten o akemasu.
As soon as I get up in the morning, I open the curtains.

昨日は会社の仕事がおわると、まっすぐ家に帰った。
Kinō wa kaisha no shigoto ga owaru to, massugu ie ni kaetta.
Yesterday, as soon as work was over, I went home.
「I went straight home after work yesterday.」

「２」

To・と can be used to indicate inevitability of a second action following the preceding action: "when, as."

Examples:
日本では春になると桜が咲きます。
Nihon de wa haru ni naru to sakura ga sakimasu.
When spring comes in Japan, the cherry trees bloom.

車が多くなると交通事故が増えます。
Kuruma ga ōku naru to kōtsū jiko ga fuemasu.
As (the number of) cars increases, the (incidence of) traffic accidents rises.
「The more cars there are, the more traffic accidents occur.」

不景気になると失業者が増えます。
Fukeiki ni naru to shitsugyō-sha ga fuemasu.
When there is a recession, the number of jobless increases.

「３」

To・と can be used to indicate a hypothetical condition: "if, unless."

Examples:
山田さんが来ないと会議が始められません。
Yamada-san ga konai to kaigi ga hajime raremasen.
If Yamada doesn't come, the meeting can't be started.
「We can't start the meeting unless Yamada comes.」

明日、天気がいいと野球ができます。
Ashita, tenki ga ii to yakyū ga dekimasu.
If the weather is good tomorrow, we can play baseball.

「４」

To・と can indicate when something has been learned as a result of specific actions: "when, after, as a result of."

Examples:
銀行へ行くと、もう閉まっていた。
Ginkō e iku to, mō shimatte ita.
When I went to the bank,「I found」it was already closed.

交番で道をきくと、その会社はすぐ見つかった。
Kōban de michi o kiku to, sono kaisha wa sugu mitsukatta.
After asking the way at a police box, I found the company right away.

「５」

To・と can be used with two verbs (either two different verbs ending in -yō/-ō, or the same verb repeated, the first ending in -yō/-ō, the second in the negative, -nai); indicates a lack of concern over which of the two events occurs: "whether...(or) not."

Examples:
”円”が強くなろうと弱くなろうと、私の生活には関係ありません。
”En” ga tsuyoku narou to yowaku narou to, watashi no seikatsu ni wa kankei arimasen. ​
Whether the yen gets stonger or grows weaker [rises or falls], it has no effect on my [daily] life.

彼女が一人でパーチイーに行こうと行くまいと、私はかまいません。
Kanojo ga hitori de pātī ni ikō to iku mai to, watashi wa kamaimasen. ​
I don't care whether she goes to the party alone or not.

That marks the end of the particle to・と, hope it helped you, and see you next time with the next particle to cover: to wa・とは!

ೖ(σ̑˽σ̑)ೖ　こゆうきあいはら　ೖ(σ̑˽σ̑)ೖ