50456
I have come across the phrase 気をつけなければ but I do not understand how it works.
Google translate says that it means "I have to be careful" but I can't find
which conjugation it is using. To me it looks like the provisional form but I
don't understand how that fits here. The full sentence is
両親を起こさないように気をつけなければならなかった.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-17T11:55:12.557
50452
2017-07-17T14:19:01.873
24001
question
grammar usage conjugations
気をつけなければ explanation
_V-nak-ereba_ is an abbreviation of _V-nak-ereba naranai_. The literal
analysis of this is "if _(-ba)_ I don't _(-nai_ ) [verb], it won't do
_(naranai)_ ":

  * 気をつける be careful.
  * 気をつけない not be careful.
  * 気をつけなければ… if they're not careful… (it won't do).
  * 気をつけなければならない if they're not careful, it won't do (=they have to be careful).

Though that's the literal construction, the full expression is just the
common, everyday way of saying "I have to [verb]", which is the idiomatic
translation. Native speakers don't usually analyze its parts, just like
English speakers don't usually think of _breakfast_ as the interruption of
fasting, etc.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-17T13:22:54.070
50456
2017-07-17T14:19:01.873
2017-07-17T14:19:01.873
622
622
50452
answer
しなければならない is one phrase. It means "must","have to". This ば don't have the
meaning of supposition. You don't need to separate into 気をつけなければ and ならない.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-17T13:31:02.480
50457
2017-07-17T13:45:29.017
2017-07-17T13:45:29.017
7320
7320
50452
answer