56384
In the following sentence

> ダーズリー一家【いっか】が目【め】を覚【さ】ます **と** 、外【そと】はどんよりとした灰色【はいいろ】の空【そら】だった。

「と」is used in a place where I'd rather use 「とき」 or 「たら」. I know that 「と」is
used for inevitable conditions like facts of nature but it doesn't fit that
sentence.

  1. Does particle 「と」has another meaning similar to 「とき」in the context of the above sentence? If so, is there a difference between the two?

  2. Similarly「と」and 「たら」(I think the difference here would be 「と」being more formal than 「たら」).
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-23T22:59:47.507
56155
2018-02-03T20:12:45.713
26539
question
grammar nuances conditionals
Usage of 「と」in a sentence from Harry Potter
It's very subtle.「とき」puts more emphasis on time so usually reserved for more
memorable occasions which often happened further back in time--like "the time
when Sarah turned 30" would be a time to bust out「とき」.

  * 「と」= "When the Dursleys woke up, the sky was..." 
  * 「とき」= "That time when the Dursleys woke up, the sky was..."

Cheers!
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T20:12:45.713
56384
2018-02-03T20:12:45.713
27576
56155
answer