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I'm used to only seeing なら, when used with verbs, to be used with either the
dictionary form or the た form of a verb, but recently I saw it with the て form

> 麻雀を通してならお姉ちゃんと話せる気がする

With a presumed meaning of "If I stick with Mahjong, I have a feeling I will
be able to speak with my sister"

The question is whether this is if I'm interpreting what is happening
correctly, and if so, what nuance does this have.
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question
meaning nuances conditionals
て form + なら meaning
The following three options are all correct:

  * 通すなら: Future tense/no notion of time
  * 通してなら: Present tense
  * 通したなら: Past tense

Before you start reading the rest of my comment, I should say: There's
**hardly** any difference between these phrases and they can be used almost
interchangeably.

With the first one it sounds a bit like the person can talk to their sister
even before starting to play mahjong. The difference between the second and
the third is: "If I do this, then it should happen" and "If I have done this,
then it should happen". In all 3 cases, it's possible that the person has
never played mahjong with their sister yet.

Maybe I'm gonna give you a different example here:

  1. 手紙を書くなら
  2. 手紙を書いてなら
  3. 手紙を書いたなら

In 1., I'd expect something like "ペンを貸すよ (= I can give you a pen)" or "電気をつけるよ
(= I'm gonna turn on the light)", i.e. something that should be done
**bofore** the person starts writing the letter (mostly, but not 100%
necessarily).

I'd say 2. and 3. are virtually the same, but it's possible that in 3. the
letter has already been written.

In rare cases, where there's absolutely no notion of time (like physical
principles), it's possible that only the dictionary form can be used and it's
meant to be the present tense. For example:
"特殊相対性理論上、光速の半分のスピードで飛ぶ粒子の重さが二倍になるなら (= If, according to the theory of special
relativity, the mass of a particle flying at half the speed of light increases
twofold, ...)".
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answer
> 麻雀 **を通して** ならお姉ちゃんと話せる気がする。

「～を[通]{とお}して」 means "through~~" or "via~~".

You use it this way:

> インターネット **を通して** 情報を得る  
>  get information **through** the Internet  
>  通訳 **を通して** 話す  
>  speak **through** an interpreter

So

> 麻雀 **を通して** お姉ちゃんと話す  
>  talk to my sister **through/via** Mahjong

なら adds the meaning of "if" to the adverbial phrase 「麻雀を通して」:

> 麻雀を **通してなら** お姉ちゃんと話せる気がする。  
>  _lit._ "I feel like I can talk to my sister **if (I do so) through/via**
> Mahjong."

(Btw, you can not rephrase it as 麻雀を通すならお姉ちゃんと話せる or 麻雀を通したならお姉ちゃんと話せる.)

* * *

なら can attach to verb forms other than the dictionary form and the た form. It
can follow adverbial phrases, so it can also attach to particles like から, で,
を, ながら, etc. eg:

> 帰って **から** 電話する make a phone call after getting home  
>  → 帰って **からなら** 電話できる can make a phone call if (it's) after getting home
>
> 音楽を聴き **ながら** 待つ wait while listening to music  
>  → 音楽を聴き **ながらなら** 待てる can wait if (I do so) while listening to music
>
> 座っ **て** する do it while seated  
>  → 座っ **てなら** できる can do it if (I do it) while seated
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answer
Let us start with the meaning of the verb 通す here, and work our way up to the
whole sentence. We will touch on a few incidental points of interest along the
way.

## The meaning of 「通す」

"Stick with [something] (until the end/all the way)" is indeed one of the
meanings of 通す, but in this context it means "go through [something]", or to
be more specific, something along the lines of "use the mediacy or mediation
of something/someone" or "use something/someone as a medium or intermediary".
The most relevant definition on
[goo辞書](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E9%80%9A%E3%81%99/#jn-157292):

> ㋒人を仲立ちとして、また、物を隔ててそのことをする。「先生を―・して頼む」「レンズを―・して見る」

Thus 「麻雀を通す」 may translate to "use mahjong as a medium".

## Why is the verb in て-form?

In your question, 通す is in the non-finite te-form 通して. The te-form has a wide
array of uses, one of which is to indicate that the action expressed by the
verb is a means for doing some other action. This can be represented in
English by "by Verb-ing" or by turning the verb into the participial form
(i.e. "v-ing"), which is also a type of non-finite form.

So "(by) using mahjong as a medium" is an apt translation for 「麻雀を通して」.

## A syntactic analysis of 「を通して」

You can think of "を通して" in your question as, rather than expressing a distinct
action, acting more like a case particle that serves to [indicate that (the
referent of) the preceding noun is a means or
medium](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/thsrs/17143/meaning/m0u/%E3%82%92%E9%80%9A%E3%81%97%E3%81%A6/)
through which the event or action expressed by the following verb phrase or
clause is achieved. In cases like this, it might be better to translate it as
"through", "by the medium of", "by means of" and the like.

This is in the same vein as the likes of "に対して" ("toward" or "against"),
"について" ("about"), "をもって" ("with") and "によって" ("by" or "depending on"), all of
which are originally comprised of a particle and a verb in te-form but have
gone through a conversion into compound particles.

## 「なら」: The grammar

If it were 「麻雀を通すなら」 or 「麻雀を通したなら」, the 「なら」 would be a 接続助詞 ("conjunctive
particle") like 「ので」, 「から」 and 「 けど」 etc., but the 「なら」 in 「通してなら」 can be
considered a 副助詞 (What's the English term for this one?), which puts it in the
same class of particle as しか, こそ, でも, etc., and as such, it can attach to
various kinds of part of speech. For example:

  * 「彼女ならできる」(attaching to a noun)

  * 「田中さんになら話してもよい」(attaching to a particle)

  * 「ゆっくり(と)なら進むことができる」(attaching to an adverb)

## 「なら」: The meaning

To investigate what the なら does in terms of meaning, let us first look at the
なら-less version of the sentence, 「麻雀を通してお姉ちゃんと話せる気がする」, because it is already
a grammatical sentence without it.

As you probably understand now, it may translate to something like this:

> "I have a feeling that I am/will be able to speak with my sister through
> mahjong."

(I used "through mahjong" for 「麻雀を通して」 here but I think "(by) using mahjong as
a medium" is fine too.)

By attaching 「なら」 to 「麻雀を通して」, you are adding some import with respect to
mahjong as a means of communication.

So what is it?

The more obvious answer is that the 「なら」 indicates that "through mahjong" is
the condition for the speaker's being able to speak with her sister. This is a
possible interpretation. Indeed, in 「ゆっくりとなら進むことができる」, for example, "slowly"
is a condition for being able to proceed.

The less obvious, but more accurate answer here, I think, is that it ascribes
a degree of specialness or exceptionality. Let me use the example sentences in
the previous section to illustrate this.

> 彼女ならできる。

This means "She can do it," but with an implication that she is somewhat
special or exceptional in being able to do it.

> 田中さんになら話してもいい。

This means "You may talk to Tanaka-san," but with an implication that 田中さん is
something of an exception.

(Compare this use of 「なら」 with the 副助詞「だけ」, which (among other functions)
indicates a sole exception.)

## A general look at the sentence

Given all this, we should now understand that 「麻雀を通してなら」 in
「麻雀を通してならお姉ちゃんと話せる気がする」 carries the information that using mahjong is a
special or exceptional (in the sense that there are only a few other ways, if
at all) means of achieving a conversation with her sister.

Now, I would provide a translation for the whole sentence by way of a closure,
but I am having a hard time fashioning one that fully and neatly incorporates
the implication of 「なら」. Perhaps fronting _through mahjong_ helps a little?

> "I have a feeling that, through mahjong, I am/will be able to speak with my
> sister."

Well, anyway, this concludes my overlong answer.
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answer