GRAMMAR
〜もし
if (emphasis)
Explanation
NOTE
もし is an adverb meaning if that emphasizes the hypothetical nature of a condition. It always appears at the beginning of the conditional clause and is paired with たら, ば, or なら.
NOTE
もし is optional — the sentence is grammatically correct without it. Adding it signals that the situation is unlikely, imaginary, or that the speaker wants to draw special attention to the if.
STRUCTURE
もし+conditional clause
もし雨が降ったら、中止です。
Moshi ame ga futtara, chuushi desu.
If it rains, it will be cancelled.
もし百万円あれば、旅行したい。
Moshi hyakuman-en areba, ryokou shitai.
If I had a million yen, I would want to travel.
もし時間があるなら、手伝ってください。
Moshi jikan ga aru nara, tetsudatte kudasai.
If you have time, please help me.
Practice exercises
1
もし宝くじに当たったら、何を買う？
If you won the lottery, what would you buy?
Answer
もし
2
もし自分が間違っていたなら、素直に謝るべきだ。
If you were wrong, you should honestly apologize.
Answer
もし
3
もし宝くじに当たったら、何をする？
If you won the lottery, what would you do?
Answer
もし
4
もし明日暇なら、映画を見よう。
If you are free tomorrow, let's watch a movie.
Answer
もし
5
もし日本に住めれば、毎日楽しいだろう。
If I could live in Japan, every day would probably be fun.
Answer
もし
6
若し雨が降ったら、試合は中止だ。
もし it rains, the game will be canceled.
Answer
若し
7
若し雨が降ったら、試合は中止だ。
もし it rains, the game will be canceled.
Answer
若し
8
もし明日雨だったら、家にいる。
If it rains tomorrow, I will stay home.
Answer
もし
9
もし明日暇なら、一緒に買い物しよう。
If you are free tomorrow, let's go shopping together.
Answer
もし