"Supposing", "if I were" and "if only"
Japanese has no verb form for "would": an imagined "if" is still たら, ば or なら. A word in front or a longer ending says how real the thing is to you. としたら, "supposing", is the one to start with.
| Form | In English | The situation is |
|---|---|---|
| としたら・とすれば・とすると | "Supposing…" | Only supposed: undecided, unknown or untrue |
| もしも～なら・たら | "If by some chance…" | Unlikely, imagined or serious |
| ば～のに・たら～のに | "If I had…, I would…" | Not so, and you are sorry it isn't |
| ものなら | "If only I could…" | Longed for, and you doubt it is possible |
| となったら・となれば・となると | "If it actually comes to…" | Becoming real: decided, or in front of you |
| （よ）うものなら | "If you so much as…" | One small step away from something terrible |
としたら・とすれば・とすると: supposing
Full pageとしたら・
としたら says outright that you are only supposing, and after it comes a question, a plan or a conclusion.
If we were to go to Kyoto, when would be good?
The three endings differ much as たら, ば and と do. としたら is the everyday one and the safe choice. とすると is for a result that follows by itself, a conclusion or a calculation, and not for a request or a plan. とすれば is the careful one, for reasoning and writing.
Assuming these figures are correct, the budget is still two million yen short.
Assuming there are fifty participants, we need to get ten more chairs ready.
仮に, "just supposing", can open the sentence.
だとすると can open a reply by itself: "if that's so, then…".
I hear the manager is away on business next week.
If so, the meeting will have to be put off.
もし and もしも: in front of an "if"
Full pageもしも～ならN3
もし at the front of a sentence says early that an "if" is coming, and is optional. もしも is the same word with more weight, for something unlikely, imagined or serious. Either goes with whichever "if" the sentence would take anyway, としたら included.
If I were the mayor, I would turn that vacant lot into a park.
English changes its verbs to "were" and "would". Japanese changes nothing: even もしも could be left out.
If there should be a big earthquake, get under a desk first.
Where it goes wrong
English "if" does the whole job from the front of the sentence. もし and もしも don't: the first half still needs its なら, たら or ば.
Not said: もしも
(If you get lost, please call this number.)
道に迷ったら.
としたら needs something you only suppose. Morning is simply going to come, so that is plain たら.
Not said: 朝に
(When morning comes, let's leave at once.)
朝になったら.
ば～のに・たら～のに: it isn't so
Full pageば～のに・
のに at the end of an "if" sentence says that this is not how things are, and that you are sorry about it. ば and たら mean the same here.
If I had time, I'd go.
You have no time, and you aren't going.
A past form just before のに says how things would have turned out.
If I had left a little earlier, I would have made it.
If you'd told me, I would have come to meet you at the station.
About someone else's choice: a gentle "you should have".
ものなら: if only I could
Full pageものなら・
After a potential verb, ものなら says that you would love to and don't believe you can. A wish follows, usually with たい.
If only I could, I would see my late grandfather once more.
If only I could, I would scrap this decision and start again.
できるものなら is a phrase of its own.
Plain たら makes the same wish without the doubt.
If I can get the day off, I'd like to.
It may well be possible.
If only I could take the day off.
You don't think you can.
となったら・となれば・となると: if it actually comes to
Full pageとなったら・
となったら is for something that has stopped being just an idea, and after it comes what it will take: work, cost, a decision. An everyday "if" or "when" is plain たら. 本当に or いざ often comes in front of となったら.
If the transfer to the island really goes ahead, we'll need to start looking for a place to live early.
If it comes to it, we can just take a taxi home.
A set phrase.
となったら is the everyday ending, となれば the careful one, and となると is for a result that follows by itself.
としたら, ものなら or となったら?
All three can be said about moving, and each says how real the move is.
If you were to move, where would you want to live?
Nobody is moving. You are only supposing.
If only I could move, I'd move right now.
You would love to, and doubt you can. もんなら is ものなら in conversation.
If you do end up moving, tell me and I'll come and help.
The move may really happen, and it will take work.
One kana separates とする from となる, the verbs inside としたら and となったら. とする is "take it that": it supposes. となる is "become": it is coming about.
（よ）うものなら: if you so much as
Full pageものなら・
After a volitional form, ものなら is a different "if": one small step, and something terrible follows. It is mostly written; in conversation it exaggerates how strict someone is, or how dangerous something is. The volitional here is not "let's": it only supposes.
Be so much as a minute late, and the teacher gives you a terrible scolding.
Other kinds of "if" and "if only"
"I wish", "if only it would": the wish alone, with no "I would…" after it.
I wish the rain would stop soon.
ばよかったN4
"If only I had": your own regret, when it is too late.
I wish I had gone to bed earlier last night.
としてもN2
"Even supposing": you grant it, and it changes nothing.
Even if we ran now, we wouldn't make it.