Conditional "~ba" form

Conditional "~ba" form

The conditional "~ba" form of, "Sumeba miyako" is a conjunction, which indicates that the preceding clause expresses a condition. Here are some examples.

* Ame ga fureba, sanpo ni ikimasen.　雨が降れば、散歩に行きません。 --- If it rains, I won't go for a walk.
* Kono kusuri o nomeba, kitto yoku narimasu.　この薬を飲めば、きっとよくなります。 --- If you take this medicine, you will get better for sure.

Let's study how to make the conditional "~ba" form

1. Replace the final "~u" with "~eba":

Iku　行く (to go) --- ikeba 
Hanasu　話す (to speak) --- hanaseba 
Miru　見る (to see) --- mireba 
Kiru　着る (to wear) --- kireba 
Taberu　食べる (to eat) --- tabereba 
Kuru　来る　(to come) --- kureba 
Suru　する　(to do) --- sureba

I-adjective: Replace the final "~i" with "~kereba"

Chiisai　小さい　(small) --- chiisakereba
Takai　高い　(expensive) --- takakereba

Na- adjective: Replace "da" with "nara(ba)". The "ba" of "naraba" is often deleted.

Yuumei da　有名だ　(famous) --- yuumei nara(ba)
Shizuka da　静かだ　(quiet) --- shizuka nara(ba)

Be-verb: Replace the verb with "nara(ba)". The "ba" of "naraba" is often deleted.

Amerika-jin da　アメリカ人だ --- amerika-jin nara(ba)
Gakusei da　学生だ --- gakusei nara(ba)

The negative conditional means, "unless".

* Anata ga ikanakereba, watashi mo ikimasen.　あなたが行かなければ、私も行きません。 --- If you don't go, I won't go either.

Here are some examples using the conditional "~ba" form.

* Kono hon o yomeba, wakarimasu.　この本を読めば、わかります。 --- If you read this book, you will understand.
* Kuukou e wa kuruma de ikeba, nijuppun de tsukimasu.　空港へは車で行けば、二十分でつきます。 --- If you go by car, you can get to the airport in 20 minutes.
* Mou sukoshi yasukereba, kaimasu.　もう少し安ければ、買います。 --- I will buy it if it is a little bit cheaper.
* Hayaku okinakereba, gakkou ni okuremasu yo.　早く起きなければ、学校に遅れますよ。 --- If you don't get up early, you will be late for school.
* Okanemochi naraba, ano kuruma mo kaeru deshou.　お金持ちならば、あの車も買えるでしょう。 --- If you are rich, you will be able to buy that car, too.

Idiomatic Expression - "~ ba yokatta"

There are some idiomatic expressions which use the conditional "~ba" form. The verb + "~ ba yokatta　～ばよかった" means, "I wish I had done so ~". "Yokatta" is informal past tense of the adjective "yoi (good)". This expression is often used with an exclamatory word such as "aa(oh)" and the sentence-ending particle "naa".

* Kare to isshoni nihon ni ikeba yokatta.　彼と一緒に日本に行けばよかった。　 --- I wish I had gone to Japan with him.
* Sensei ni kikeba yokatta.　先生に聞けばよかった。 --- I wish I had asked my teacher.
* Aa, motto tabereba yokatta naa.　ああ、もっと食べればよかったなあ。 --- I wish I had eaten more.
* Denwa shinakereba yokatta.　電話しなければよかった。 --- I wish I had not called.