59898
I'm reading this
[article](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10011498691000/k10011498691000.html)
about how air conditioning and electric fans turn into a lot of fires. The
final sentence has put me in a little loop though. I cannot tell if there is a
double conditional being used here or not.

There is a **と** but then a little later on there is **あったら**. I am not really
sure what is intended by the **と**. I know that **と** has multiple meanings,
but I am unsure if it should be translated to a 'if' or a 'when'. Also another
major bump for me is the **あったら** as I have only seen the たら-form being used
as a conditional marker. It seems really strange to me to have a double
conditional, but ultimately I am unsure

> 特に２０年以上使っている古いエアコンや扇風機を使うときは、変な音がするなどいつも **と** 違うことが **あったら**
> 使わないでほしいと言っています。
>
> My translation: The case for old air conditioning units and electric fans
> that are in use for at least 20 years, which (if they? [based on と]) are
> always making strange sounds and (if? [based on たら-form]) they are unusual,
> these are the ones you do not want to use they said.
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2018-07-05T22:18:19.633
59893
2018-07-06T06:55:22.493
30339
question
grammar particle-と
Confusion about possible double condition in article about fires
変な音がするなどいつも **と** 違うことが **あったら**

in this case you are dealing with two fairly commonly heard expressions:

いつも **と** 違う - which means "different from (the) usual (X)" or "different (X)
from the usual one"

this phrase is then followed by が **あったら** , which, as you correctly
identified, is the conditional of ある and can simply be translated as "if"

As @Chocolate pointed out to me below, the use of **など** after 変な音がする makes
"strange sounds" one of many possible "different from usual" conditions,

so the entire phrase would become:

"if anything is unusual/out of the ordinary such as it making strange
sounds..."
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2018-07-05T22:41:17.290
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2018-07-06T06:55:22.493
2018-07-06T06:55:22.493
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answer
> 「特に２０年以上使っている古いエアコンや扇風機を使うときは、変な音がするなどいつも **と** 違うことが **あったら**
> 使わないでほしいと言っています。」

There is no "double conditional" used in this sentence. There is only one,
which is 「あったら」.

The 「と」 in 「いつもと違う」 is **_not_** the conditional 「と」. You cannot place a
simple word like 「いつも」 right in front of the conditional 「と」 in the first
place. It would generally take a whole mini-sentence or a verb phrase for the
following 「と」 to indicate a condition.

This 「と」 simply indicates a **_standard for comparison_**. The standard is
「いつも」 here. If you have an いつもと違う something, that will be a deviation. Thus
「いつもと違う」 just means " ** _unusual_** " here.

The structure of this sentence is:

> "When using a (certain thing), they would rather not want you to use it
> **_if_** (Conditions) such as (Example) are found."

(certain thing): ２０年以上使っている古いエアコンや扇風機

(Conditions): いつもと違うことがある

(Example): 変な音がする

In 「～～など」, "～～" is an actual example of what is described after the 「など」.

Thus, the sentence means:

> "In particular, in using an old air conditioner or electric fan that has
> been in use for over 20 years, they are saying that they would rather not
> want you to use them if you found unusual things with them such as a strange
> sound being made."
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-06T01:55:55.870
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2018-07-06T02:01:56.250
2018-07-06T02:01:56.250
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answer