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~と conditional

dhmkhkk

後輩
25 Jun 2017
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Hi guys,

I read on kind of a blog that the ~to condiitonal can only be used in present tense. Which kind of makes sense since it usually describes natural events or something which happens all the time 100%. e.g

haru ni naru to, sakura ga sakimasu.

But then I found this in a book:
Yuubinkyoku e iku to, tomodachi ga imashita.

Is it correct?
 
You might be misunderstanding the explanation about the と conditional. Aと、B means "A happens, then naturally B happens", not limited to "natural events".
と conditional expresses habit or repeatedly occurred things, and the nuance is closer to "when" than "if".

はるになると、はながさきます。
When spring comes, flowers bloom.

と conditional can express a real past event, too. It describes a past fact objectively even for an event the speaker really experienced, so it's often used in narrative in novels. In this case, と can be used also for one-off event. It's close to たら, but と is more written-language-like.

ゆうびんきょくへいくと、ともだちがいました。
(used in a composition or diary)

ゆうびんきょくへいったら、ともだちがいたんだ。
(casual conversation)
 
You might be misunderstanding the explanation about the と conditional. Aと、B means "A happens, then naturally B happens", not limited to "natural events".
と conditional expresses habit or repeatedly occurred things, and the nuance is closer to "when" than "if".

はるになると、はながさきます。
When spring comes, flowers bloom.

と conditional can express a real past event, too. It describes a past fact objectively even for an event the speaker really experienced, so it's often used in narrative in novels. In this case, と can be used also for one-off event. It's close to たら, but と is more written-language-like.

ゆうびんきょくへいくと、ともだちがいました。
(used in a composition or diary)

ゆうびんきょくへいったら、ともだちがいたんだ。
(casual conversation)

Ah, thank you! I almost threw my book away :)
 
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