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What is the difference between 役に立てば and 役に立てれば?

Isn't 立つ a first group verb which means it should be 役に立てば? why in most cases
do I find it written 役に立てれば like in this example: お役に立てれば幸いです.
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2017-03-20T21:13:06.167
44690
2017-03-20T21:36:44.500
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question
grammar
What is the difference between 役に立てば and 役に立てれば?
The key difference is the verb itself.

  * 立てば is from 立つ. 役に立つ = _"it's useful"_ , 役に立 **てば** = _" **if** it's useful"_.
  * 立てれば is from 立てる, the potential form of 立つ. 役に立 **てる** = _"it **can be** useful"_; 役に立て **れば** = _" **if** it **can be** useful"_.

The additional conjugation of the verb adds another layer of indirection to
the utterance, making it less blunt and thus potentially more polite. This
same kind of indirection happens in English, too. Consider the differences in
phrasing of _"if it's useful"_ versus _"if you happen to find it useful"_ ,
etc.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-20T21:36:44.500
44691
2017-03-20T21:36:44.500
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