〜と
When it happens automatically
Whenever A, B follows — every single time, and nobody decides it.
まがると、えきが
The part before と stays plain non-past, even about the past.
ふると
No もし, and no requests or invitations after it. Use たら instead.
✕ まがると、〜て
えきは どこですか。
みぎに まがると、 えきが あります。
〜と
Japanese has four different words for “if”, and English has one — so the whole of Phase P is really about picking the right one. Start with と, the one with the sharpest rule: it's 100%. Turn right and the station is simply there — every single time. 🔊 Tap to hear.
Plain non-past ＋ と — “whenever A, B happens”. The useful way to hold on to this one: と is 100%. Turn right and the station is simply there; press the button and the train simply stops. It happens every single time, and nobody chooses it. That one idea explains the rest of this unit — because a もし is never 100%, と can't carry one. The part before と stays plain non-past, even when the sentence is about the past.
と の あとに おねがいは ✕
Now the rule that decides everything. Because the result is automatic, nothing that depends on someone's will can follow と — no 〜てください, no 〜ませんか, no 〜ましょう. When you need one of those, reach for 〜たら instead. 🔊 Tap to hear.
Need 〜たら again? → Unit 19 introduced it →
Here's the catch, and it's the whole reason 〜と feels different from the others. Because the result is automatic, nothing that depends on somebody's will can follow it — no requests (〜てください), no invitations (〜ませんか), no “let's” (〜ましょう), no “I want to”. When you need one of those, switch to 〜たら from Unit 19. It carries the same “if / when”, and anything can follow it.
クイズ
Six questions. Watch what comes after the comma — if it's a request, と is out.
Question 1 / 6 · 0 correct