とあってwith it being …, naturally
A reporter's "because": something makes the occasion special, and what everyone can see is the natural result. It belongs to news and narration. In conversation people say ので or だから.
With it being the first day of a three-day weekend, the expressways were badly jammed from the morning on.
How to form it
Noun／plain form + とあって
A noun goes straight on: 連休とあって, 無料とあって. After a verb: 受賞したとあって.
- Before it
- What makes the occasion special: 連休 (a long weekend), 初日 (the first day), 入場無料 (free admission), 五年ぶり (the first in five years), a big win.
- After it
- What anyone there could see: crowds, lines, traffic, excitement, nerves.
- Said about
- A scene you watch from outside. Rarely your own doings.
- Where you'll meet it
- News reports, features, narration. Hardly ever in conversation.
とあって or とあれば?
Alike to look at. とあって reports a fact; とあれば is an "if".
とあってN1This page
A fact, and the result people saw. No "I will" or request can follow.
It was their old teacher asking, and his former students turned out in numbers.
とあればN1
An "if" you can't refuse, and what you will do or must do.
If it is my old teacher asking, I can hardly say no.
In use
With admission free, the venue was bustling with families.
The film had won the top prize at an international festival, and long lines formed at the theaters showing it.
It was their first final, and the players' faces were tense.
It looks on from outside
So nothing you decide or ask for can follow: no 〜ましょう, no 〜てください, no 〜つもりだ. For those, and for your own reasons, it is から or ので.
Not said: 連休と
(It's a long weekend, so let's go out somewhere.)
連休だから、どこかへ出かけましょう.
Close neighbours
だけにN2
"Precisely because …, all the more": the reason makes a result or a feeling stronger. People say it, about themselves too.
I had been expecting a lot, so I was all the more disappointed.
にあってN1
One kana away, and a written "in": it places someone in a situation. とあって gives a reason.
In a crisis, the people who run an organization are expected to make calm decisions.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
開店初日
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which sentence sounds natural?
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
とあって with は added changes sides: とあっては is an "if" like とあれば, usually followed by something that can't be helped.
If it is the president's order, we have no choice but to go along with it.
More sentences
It was the last Sunday of summer vacation, and the city pool was full from the morning.
The national treasure was going on special show for the first time in five years, and a long line formed before the museum opened.
A rare bird had been confirmed to be breeding there, and researchers gathered in the area from all over the country.