43605
Is my translation correct in the following examples?

> If (when) I build a house I will buy furniture.
>
> 家を建てたら、家具を買う。
>
> If I built a house I would buy furniture.
>
> 家を建てたなら、家具を買った。
>
> If I build a house I will have a place to live.
>
> 家を建てると住む場所がある。
>
> If I build a house I will buy good furniture. 家を建てれば、良い家具を買う。
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-17T00:27:43.980
43604
2017-02-17T02:49:46.547
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
10476
question
conditionals
What is the correct usage of conditional and hypothetical?
> If (when) I build a house I will buy furniture.
>
> 家{いえ}を建{た}て **たら** 、家具{かぐ}を買{か}う。

Correct. That is an exemplary use of 「たら」 for a **specific and/or one-time-
only** condition-consequence relationship.

In a real-life setting, however, the 「買う」 ending would sound quite blunt. It
would be more natural to say 「買うつもりです」、「買うと思{おも}います」, etc.

> If I built a house I would buy furniture.
>
> 家を建てた **なら** 、家具を買った。

Ungrammatical and unnatural. Why use the past tense 「買った」 here? You have not
bought the furniture yet. Moreover, you have not even built/bought a house yet
as you utter this line.

In a proper and natural use of 「なら」, the second half (the consequence part)
would express some kind of opinion, judgement, wish, etc. of the speaker. A
verb phrase in the simple past tense (as 「家具を買った」) would generally not fit
there.

A natural-sounding second half would be along the lines of:

「素敵{すてき}な家具をたくさん買いたいです」,

「イタリアまで家具を買いに行くつもりです」, etc.

> If I build a house I will have a place to live.
>
> 家を建てる **と** 住{す}む場所{ばしょ}がある。

Nice try but sounds unnatural on the native level. When native speakers
see/hear the condition 「家を建てると」, we will naturally expect to see/hear that
something will _**happen**_ as a result of it.

The problem here is your verb choice of 「ある」, which is _**stative**_. It is
too weak to make something sound like an "action". Change it to 「できる」 and it
will instantly satisfy the reader/listener's expectation of seeing/hearing
about what would **happen** then.

> If I build a house I will buy good furniture.
>
> 家を建て **れば** 、良{い}い家具を買う。

Grammatical but unnatural. (Again, I am speaking on the native level because
that is the ONLY level on which I can judge these things. For all I know, your
sentences might be graded as A+ in a Japanese-as-a-foreign-language class.)

「れば」 should be used to express a **constant and/or permanent** kind of
condition-consequence relationship.

It might certainly be somewhat universal to buy furniture if you build a
house, but buying "good" furniture is not, is it? Buying "good" furniture is
basically this particular speaker's desire.

As I stated in the beginning, 「たら」 would be a far better and more natural word
choice here.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-17T02:15:27.833
43605
2017-02-17T02:49:46.547
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
43604
answer