The Japanese conditional system has really only one centerpiece, namely: ば (ba). To understand why it’s the fundamental conditional marker, we first need to understand the difference between conditional and provisional forms.
Conditional vs. Provisional: A Key Distinction
What’s the Difference?
- Conditional: Expresses a direct if-then relationship
- Provisional: Forms provisional, temporal, or causal subordinate clauses, most accurately translated with “as” rather than “if”
Old Japanese
The language originally marked this difference through distinct formation patterns:
Conditional Formation in Old Japanese
The conditional used the a-stem, while provisional forms used the exclamatory base.
Provisional Formation in Old Japanese
Early Middle Japanese
During early middle Japanese, this distinction remained clear:
Late Middle Japanese
In late middle Japanese, we see the development of new conditional expressions, all built on the ば foundation:
たら Development
Copula Conditional Development
During this time ならば was equivalent to では, as なり is a contraction of にあり and あり has perfective qualities.
Contemporary Japanese
Modern Japanese maintains traces of this historical distinction:
Modern Conditional Forms
I might note here that in contemporary Japanese では is considered the true causal relation marker of the copula.
雨ではいけない – It being rain, I can’t go (A directly links to B, A is causing B)
while 雨なら expresses more of a conditional “If it’s rain…”
Why This History Matters
Understanding this historical development explains why:
- えば maintains its strong hypothetical usage
- It descends directly from past provisional exclamatory stem + ば
- たら and なら are derived forms
- たら (from て+あら+ば) became the main conditional marker
- なら (from に+あら+ば) developed as a topic-conditional
Modern Usage Implications
This historical background explains current usage patterns:
Concluding The History Part
The distinction between conditional and provisional forms in Old Japanese helps us understand why ば is the fundamental conditional marker. Other forms like たら and なら are actually historical compounds containing ば, explaining their more specialized modern uses.
This historical perspective provides crucial insight into why modern Japanese has multiple conditional forms, each with its own specific usage patterns, all descended from the centerpiece, the original ば conditional system.
On the next page we’ll cover how to apply this to modern day patterns ->
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