Lesson 20 Base 1 + nakereba

Base 1 + nakereba is used to make negative conditional sentences — what will happen if something doesn't happen. Look at these examples:

• Ojii-san ga sugu kaeranakereba watashi wa makudonarudo ni ikimasu. (If Grandpa doesn't return soon I'm going to McDonald's.)
• Miki ga heya o tsukawanakereba Junko wa tsukaitai desu. (If Miki isn't going to use the room Junko wants to use it.)
• Naoko wa kasa o karinakereba (kanojo wa) koukai suru deshou. ¹ (If Naoko doesn't borrow an umbrella she'll probably regret it.)

As mentioned in the last lesson, please remember that the na in nakereba comes from nai and is the negative element. The kereba is the conditional ("if") element which was introduced back in Lesson 8 with tai (takereba).

Word Check

heya: room
tsukau: to use
kariru: to borrow
koukai suru: to regret

(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes

1. A very convenient thing about Japanese is the fact that you can omit subjects that are understood or obvious — you don't have to retain them for the sake of good grammar, as in English. In this example there is no question that kanojo wa (she) is Naoko, so it is omitted.