How to use 「なら」 & 「から」?

[berrypie]

Sounds like both of these phrases - なら & から also mean "becoz of..." but I am pretty confused.

So my "today's topic" is なら& から: when and how should I use なら & から？
皆さん、教えてくれてください。

P.S. my motto is "learning by doing", that's why it seems like I am learning Japanese phrases randomly. I don't like to attend those Japanese courses in my university 'coz it doesn't help me much. (And I have no extra credit and time to take any Japanese courses at the moment..... I am over-credits now!)

[Nagoyankee]

Originally Posted by berrypie

Sounds like both of these phrases - なら & から also mean "becoz of..." but I am pretty confused.

So my "today's topic" is なら& から: when and how should I use なら & から？
皆さん、教えてくれてください。

P.S. my motto is "learning by doing", that's why it seems like I am learning Japanese phrases randomly. I don't like to attend those Japanese courses in my university 'coz it doesn't help me much. (And I have no extra credit and time to take any Japanese courses at the moment..... I am over-credits now!)

First, 教えてくれてください? What happened to your Japanese overnight?

It's 教えて下さい.

Now なら& から.

寒いから行きたくない。
Because it's cold, I don't want to go.

このすきやき、おいしいからもっとたべたい。
This sukiyaki is yummy, so I wanna eat more!

日本語はむずかしいからきらいです。
Japanese is difficult, so I hate it.
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

雨が降ったなら行きません。
If it rained, I wouldn't go.

ひとつしか選べないなら、あの青いのを選びます。
If I could choose only one, I'd choose that blue one.

ひとりで行きたいと言うなら、行かせません。
If you say you wanna go alone, I won't let you go.

Do you see the difference? What? What do you mean 'no'?

Basically, use から when the condition for doing or not doing something is a fact. Use なら　if it's hypothetical.

[berrypie]

わぁ... すみません、先生
Correction: 教えてください教えてください教えてください教えてく ださい....

いまわかりました！The difference is really obvious if you compare them together

[berrypie]

I just finished my school work today so I have more time to analyze this now. Here I go!

寒いから行きたくない。
このすきやきは美味しいからもっとたべたい

えっ？Seems like から always comes after an adjective... can it be attached to a noun or even verb?

ひとつしか選べないなら、あの青いのを選びます。
What does the ない mean in here?

一人で行きたいと言うなら、行かせません。
行かせる -> causative verb here. If it's 一人で行きたいと言うなら、行かせます, it means "If you said you will go alone, I will make/let you go".

I have a hard time understanding causative verbs (せる). My friend told me that if the action is not voluntary, then you should use that.
For example:
私は彼に本を取らせる。I make him getting a book.
He has no intention get the book himself, but I make him to.

Here comes my question... for causative verbs (せる), do I "make" people do things?

Okay, let me go back to なら, as なら is hypothetical condition, isn't it similar to Verb+ ば？(仮定形)

[CaptainThunder]

Originally Posted by berrypie

I just finished my school work today so I have more time to analyze this now. Here I go!

寒いから行きたくない。
このすきやきは美味しいからもっとたべたい

えっ？Seems like から always comes after an adjective... can it be attached to a noun or even verb?

ひとつしか選べないなら、あの青いのを選びます。
What does the ない mean in here?

一人で行きたいと言うなら、行かせません。
行かせる -> causative verb here. If it's 一人で行きたいと言うなら、行かせます, it means "If you said you will go alone, I will make/let you go".

I have a hard time understanding causative verbs (せる). My friend told me that if the action is not voluntary, then you should use that.
For example:
私は彼に本を取らせる。I make him getting a book.
He has no intention get the book himself, but I make him to.

Here comes my question... for causative verbs (せる), do I "make" people do things?

Okay, let me go back to なら, as なら is hypothetical condition, isn't it similar to Verb+ ば？(仮定形)

1.) It certainly could be:

学校に行ったから、ならえた。Because I went to school, I was able to learn.

2.) It's the negative potential form, "can't choose".

3.) Basically. Here's a page on it.

4.) Yes, it's very similar. There are actually four ways to say "if" in Japanese, here's another page from the same site explaining it.

[berrypie]

Thank you for telling me about this site! It is a really awesome site to learn about Japanese grammar!

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Nagoyankee

Now なら& から.

That explanation is similar to the way I learned the differences between えば、たら、と、なら a long time ago. Hopefully people find your から・なら explanation useful. But a question for the (presumably) native: Don't style guides typically frown on using the kanji 下 when using ください as an auxiliary verb?

I thought you use the kanji when you're receiving an object but use only hiragana when using it as an auxiliary. What I mean is:
箱を下さいました。靴下を下さいました。鉛筆を下さい ました。
作ってくださいました。つれてくださいました。捨てて くださいました。

Am I wrong, or do Japanese people just not care, similar to how young people nowadays frequently write こんにちわ and young Americans confuse "lose" with "loose"?

Or is it more that what I'm asking is extremely nitpicky and it's like correcting someone saying "I wish I was a pianist" by telling them, "No. It's: I wish I /were/ a pianist"?

Thanks.

[Nagoyankee]

Most Japanese, including myself, would not tolerate it if our own kids wrote こんにちわ. Not for a second. School teachers would also definitely correct that last kana. But no one has any control over how kids write things in their keitai texting.

About 下さい. I often both write and see it written in business letters with a kanji regardless of its function in the sentence. What you said might actually be true technically. But this has never been a popular topic in as long as I can remember.

[KyleGoetz]

Nagoyankee, thanks for the info.

And as far as kids writing こんにちわ, thanks for keeping up the good fight! When I studied in Tokyo, I saw Japanese college students write わ instead of は occasionally, and it drove me mad.

I can't find the website link right now, but there is a .com that is a Japanese website dedicated to eradicating the misuse of わ like that. I found it funny, but can't locate the URL right now. "ONLY YOU CAN HELP FIX THE PROBLEM" and that type of langauge.