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復習

Lesson 23 — とき · と (条件じょうけん) ·道みちの案内あんない(directions)

BOOK I · 初級 I みんなの日本語 · Mini no Nihongo

L23 · とき · と

Name Date

REFとき · と (条件じょうけん) ·道みちの案内あんない(directions)

1. 〜とき — when

Before ときRuleExample
verbplain form
い-adj
な-adj
noun

Tense before とき is RELATIVE

FormTimingExample
action not yet complete
action complete

The tense of the とき-clause is judged against the main verb, not against now. This is the most-tested point in L23.

2. 〜と — natural / automatic consequence

Formation: dictionary form + と (negative: ない + と)

Restriction: the main clause cannot express will — no requests, invitations, commands, or intentions.

✕ → use たら (L25).

Typical と contexts

machine operation
directions
natural law

3. 道みちの案内あんない— GIVING & ASKING DIRECTIONS

Movement verbs and their particles

VerbParticleExample

Key point: these verbs of passage take を for the route — not で. 道みちを歩あるきます ○ /道みちで歩あるきます ✕

This を marks the space moved through, and appears again in 出でます (部屋へやを出でます) and 降おります (電車でんしゃを降おります).

Landmark vocabulary

交差点こうさてん信号しんごう角かど橋はし道みち坂さか踏切ふみきり横断歩道おうだんほどう駐車場ちゅうしゃじょう近ちかくそば向むこう突つき当あたり

Ordinal counters — 〜目め

PatternMeaningExample
the Nth (general)
the Nth (in order)
the Nth street

目め turns a count into an ordinal: 2つ = two things · 2つ目め = the second one.

Direction phrases

JapaneseEnglish
go straight
turn right at the second intersection
cross at the light
cross the bridge and it's on the left
left at the end of the road
it's on the right side of this road

Asking the way会話かいわ

Key vocabulary

曲まがります渡わたります通とおります回まわします押おします触さわります動うごきます歩あるきます出でます引ひきます要いります調しらべます直なおします故障こしょう道みち交差点こうさてん信号しんごう角かど橋はし駐車場ちゅうしゃじょう建物たてもの入口いりぐち出口でぐちスイッチつまみ音おとサイズ〜目め

詳説 In depth — grammar notes

とき is a noun, and that explains everything

means 'time / occasion'. It is an ordinary noun, so whatever sits in front of it is plain L22 noun modification — the connection rules are not new, they are the same table you already learned.

Before ときBecause…Example
verb, plain formverbs modify nouns bare
い-adj 〜いい-adjectives modify nouns bare
な-adj 〜なな-adjectives take な before a noun
noun 〜のnoun + noun takes の
negative 〜ないplain negative modifies too

✕ · ✕ — だ never survives in front of a noun.

Relative tense — the point examiners love

The とき-clause is not tensed against now. It is tensed against the main verb: = the clause action is not yet finished at the moment of the main action; = it is already finished.

SentenceOrder of eventsEnglish
buy → then travel homeI bought a bag on my way home (still abroad)
arrive home → then buyI bought a bag after I got home
lock → then leaveI lock up when I go out
arrive → then speakI say tadaima when I get home

Both halves can be past, non-past, or mixed: the とき-clause form never changes to match the main clause's tense. — the main verb is past, the clause is still 来る.

With state words () the distinction disappears — a state has no completion point, so the non-past form is used regardless of when it happened.

Particles after とき

FormEffectExample
plain, neutral
topic / contrast with other occasions
pins a single specific moment
'also when…'
modifies a following noun

〜と — the automatic consequence

Dictionary form + と (negative: ). It says: whenever A happens, B follows — no choice, no decision, no exceptions.

UseExample
machine / operation
natural law
route / directions
habit
negative condition

The と-clause is always non-past, even when the whole sentence is about the past: ○ · ✕.

What may NOT follow と

The main clause has to be something that simply happens. Anything the speaker chooses is blocked.

Blocked in the main clause✕Fix with たら (L25)
intention / volition
request
invitation
command / prohibition
permission

One past main clause is allowed: discovery. — 'when I opened the window, (I found) the sea was visible'. Nothing was decided; the result simply presented itself.

と vs たら vs ば vs なら — the map

You meet these across four lessons. Filed together they are much easier to keep apart.

FormLessonCore meaningVolitional main clause?
L23automatic, always-true result✕
L25if / when — the general-purpose one○
L35if — conditional focus, often written△ (limited)
L35if we're talking about X, then…○

When unsure in conversation, たら is almost never wrong. と is the one with the hard restriction.

The を of passage

Verbs of moving through a space mark that space with を — not で and not に. This is a different を from the object marker; nothing is being acted on, it is a route being traversed.

VerbMeaningExample
cross
pass through
walk along
stroll through
turn at
leave (a space)
get off

✕ — で marks where an activity takes place, but walking is the movement itself. ○ (playing happens there) vs ○ (you move across it).

曲がります takes two particles at once

— を marks where you turn, へ (or に) marks which way.

PieceParticleAnswers
をat what landmark
へ / にin which direction

Either half can be dropped: · .

Ordinals with 〜目め

turns any counter into a ranking, and the result then links to its noun with の.

CounterCountOrdinalWith a noun

Don't drop the の: ✕ → ○.

Location words that are easy to mix up

WordUse it when…Example
same category, immediately beside
physically close, any category
in the general vicinity
on the far side of something
at the dead end of a corridor / street
which side of a road

Giving directions as a routine

Real directions are a chain of と-clauses ending in or .

is L26 grammar arriving early — it is the standard way to ask, so learn it as a fixed phrase now.

要いります and friends

VerbParticleNote
が'is needed'. No ています form: ✕
がintransitive — the machine moves by itself
がusually seen as — it is broken
に — not を

Try translating

EnglishJapanese
I lock the door when I go out.
When I was a child, I lived in Osaka.
When you press this button, the ticket comes out.
Please turn right at the second corner.
Cross that bridge and go straight.
If you don't put money in, it won't work.

練習 Practice — 16 questions

  1. Q1 route を

    'Cross the bridge.' — pick the particle.

    渡 わた
    り
    ま
    す
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B Verbs of passage take をfor the route:橋はしを渡わたる
  2. Q2 route を

    'Walk along this road.' — pick the particle.

    歩 ある
    き
    ま
    す
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B 道みちを歩あるきます — を marks the space moved through, not で
  3. Q3 directions

    'Turn right at the corner.'

    曲 ま
    が
    り
    ま
    す
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A 角かどを右みぎへ曲まがります
  4. Q4 ordinal 〜目

    'the second corner'

    2
    つ
    目 め
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B 目めmakes a count ordinal: 2つ = two · 2つ目め= the second
  5. Q5 directions + と

    'Go straight and the station is there.'

    と
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A Directions use dict form + と. 行きますと is grammatical but stiff — you hear it in announcements, not from a person pointing down the street.
  6. Q6 landmark vocab

    'It's at the end of the road, on the left.'

    突 つ
    き
    当 あ
    た
    り
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A 突つき当あたり= the far end of a road / T-junction
  7. Q7 landmark vocab

    Which means 'intersection'?

    語彙 ごい
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B 交差点こうさてんintersection ·信号しんごうtraffic light ·横断歩道おうだんほどうcrosswalk ·踏切ふみきりrail crossing
  8. Q8 verb + とき

    'When I borrow books at the library, I need a card.'

    と
    き
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B Plain form + とき
  9. Q9 い-adj + とき

    'When I'm sleepy, I drink coffee.'

    眠 ねむ
    い
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A い-adj attaches directly: 眠ねむいとき
  10. Q10 な-adj + とき

    'When I'm free, please come over.'

    暇 ひま
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    C な-adj + な + とき
  11. Q11 noun + とき

    'When I was a child, I often swam in the river.'

    子 こ
    ど
    も
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B noun + の + とき
  12. Q12 relative tense

    帰かえ___とき、かばんを買かいました。(bought it in the foreign country, BEFORE arriving home)

    帰 かえ
    る
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A Action incomplete relative to buying → dict form 帰かえるとき
  13. Q13 relative tense

    帰かえ___とき、「ただいま」と言いいます。(after arriving home)

    帰 かえ
    る
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B Arrival completed first → 帰かえったとき
  14. Q14 natural consequence

    'Press this button and change comes out.'

    と
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B Machine behavior = dict form + と (たら is also grammatical but と is the L23 target; 押しますと is the announcement register again).
  15. Q15 directions + と

    'Turn right at that corner and there's a bank.'

    曲 ま
    が
    る
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A Directions: dict form + と. 〜ますと is real Japanese, but it belongs to station-announcement register, not to giving someone directions; 〜えと is the imperative being quoted, which is a different structure entirely.
  16. Q16 と restriction

    Which sentence is WRONG with と?

    ✕
    と
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    C と can't precede invitations/requests/intentions —行いきましょう needs たら

解答 Answer key

  1. Q1 B Verbs of passage take をfor the route:橋はしを渡わたる
  2. Q2 B 道みちを歩あるきます — を marks the space moved through, not で
  3. Q3 A 角かどを右みぎへ曲まがります
  4. Q4 B 目めmakes a count ordinal: 2つ = two · 2つ目め= the second
  5. Q5 A Directions use dict form + と. 行きますと is grammatical but stiff — you hear it in announcements, not from a person pointing down the street.
  6. Q6 A 突つき当あたり= the far end of a road / T-junction
  7. Q7 B 交差点こうさてんintersection ·信号しんごうtraffic light ·横断歩道おうだんほどうcrosswalk ·踏切ふみきりrail crossing
  8. Q8 B Plain form + とき
  9. Q9 A い-adj attaches directly: 眠ねむいとき
  10. Q10 C な-adj + な + とき
  11. Q11 B noun + の + とき
  12. Q12 A Action incomplete relative to buying → dict form 帰かえるとき
  13. Q13 B Arrival completed first → 帰かえったとき
  14. Q14 B Machine behavior = dict form + と (たら is also grammatical but と is the L23 target; 押しますと is the announcement register again).
  15. Q15 A Directions: dict form + と. 〜ますと is real Japanese, but it belongs to station-announcement register, not to giving someone directions; 〜えと is the imperative being quoted, which is a different structure entirely.
  16. Q16 C と can't precede invitations/requests/intentions —行いきましょう needs たら