Minna No Nihongo Lesson 45 Grammar

Minna No Nihongo Lesson 45 Grammar

V dictionary form Vた-form Vない-formない い-adj (～い) な-adjな Nの

場合は、～

 

～ばあいはis an expression used to talk about a hypothetical situation. The sentence after it indicates how to cope with such a situation or its consequence. ばあいはfollows either verbs, adjectives or nouns. Because ばあいis a noun, the form of verbs, い-adjectives, な-adjectives and nouns connected to it are the same as the forms when modifying nouns.

会議に間に合わない場合は、連絡してください。

If you cannot be in time for the meeting, please inform us.

時間に遅れた場合は、会場に入れません。

If you are late, you will not be admitted to the hall.

ファクスの調子が悪い場合は、どうしたらいいですか。

In the event that the fax machine does not work well, what should I do?

領収書が必要な場合は、係に言ってください。

When you need a receipt, please tell the person in charge.

火事や地震の場合は、エレベーターを使わないでください。

In case of fire or earthquake, do not use the elevator.

2. Plain form のに、～

な-adj / N：～だ  → ～な

のにfollows either verbs, adjectives, or nouns. Their forms used with のにare plain form. のにis used when what is stated in the second clause runs contrary to what is expected from the first clause.

約束をしたのに、彼女は来ませんでした。(*)

She did not come, even though she promised.

きょうは日曜日なのに、働かなければなりません。(**)

Even though today is Sunday, I have to work.

In (*), the speaker expects that the woman will come because she promised to do so. So he naturally feels disappointed that she did not come. In (**), Sunday is normally a holiday, yet the speaker has to work so he feels dissatisfied. The second clause implies feelings of unexpectedness or dissatisfaction.

[Note] The difference between ～のにand～が／～ても :

わたしの部屋は狭いですが、きれいです。(i)

（X狭いのに）

My room is small but clean.

あした雨が降っても、出かけます。(ii)

（X雨が降るのに）

Even if it rains tomorrow, I will go out.

～がand ～てもin (i) and (ii) cannot be substituted with ～のに. This is because (i) simply joins two different evaluations together and the second clause therein does not represent an unexpected consequence of what is stated in the first clause. The first clause of (ii) suggests a possibility, but ～のにcan only indicate things that have actually occurred in reality.

約束をしたのに、どうして来なかったんですか。(iii)

（X約束をしましたが）    （X約束をしても）

You promised to come. Why didn’t you come?

～のにin (iii) cannot be substituted with ～がor ～ても. This is because the second clause expresses a strong reproach.

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