ば～のに・
"If it were so, things would be different", said when it isn't so. Japanese has no verb form for "would": the のに at the end is what says this is not how things are, and that you are sorry about it.
about now
If I had the money, I'd buy a new car.
about then
If I had left a little earlier, I would have made it.
How to form it
…ば／…たら／…なら + what would follow (plain form) + のに
あれば, あったら, 近ければ, 静かなら. ば and たら mean the same here. Before のに, だ becomes な: 便利なのに. The sentence usually stops at のに.
Four that look alike
| After ば or たら | What it says |
|---|---|
| いい | Advice. 買えばいい: "you can just buy it". |
| いいのに | They could, and they don't. 買えば |
| What would follow, then のに | It isn't so. お金が |
| よかった | It is over, and you wish you had. 買えば |
のに says it isn't so
If I had time, I'd go.
You have no time, and you aren't going.
English changes the verbs to "had" and "would". Japanese adds のに.
Without のに the "if" can still be an imagined one: 宝くじが当たったら、家を買う, "if I won the lottery, I'd buy a house". のに adds that it isn't so, and that you are sorry.
Now or then
What comes before のに sets the time. A form that is not past is how things would be now. A past form is how they would have turned out.
If I had the money, I'd buy it.
Now. You don't have it.
If I'd had the money, I would have bought it.
Then. You didn't have it.
About the past, the "if" half is often ていたら or ていれば. And what would follow is very often something you could do: できるのに, 行けたのに.
If I had checked the map then, I wouldn't have gotten lost. In fact I set off without checking.
If it were a little quieter, I could record here. The building work outside is too loud.
How it is said
You say it about whatever you are sorry isn't so, and the voice often trails off.
You couldn't get to the end of your presentation?
No. If only I'd had five more minutes, I could have explained everything…
About someone else's choice, it is a gentle "you should have": you would gladly have done something.
If you'd told me, I would have come to meet you at the station.
Close neighbours
Someone could do it and doesn't, or you wish things were otherwise: "why don't you just…?", "I wish".
If you have something to say, why don't you just say it?
ばよかったN4
Your own regret, once it is over: "I should have".
I wish I had gone to bed earlier last night.
のにN4
With no "if" before it, のに is "even though". Both halves are facts.
Even though it is raining, the children are playing outside.
Check yourself
1Does this person have a car?
車が
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
先週の
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
んだけど in place of のに
んだけど says the same thing more lightly, and is a common way to turn something down.
I'd help if I had the time.
More sentences
If the house had one more room, I could use it as a study. For now I work in the kitchen.
If he lived a little closer, we could see each other more often. His town is three hours away by train.
If I had booked ahead, I could have had a window seat. But I forgot to book.
If I had taken an umbrella, I wouldn't have gotten this wet.