ものなら②

ものなら② expresses a strong, often warning-like conditional: imagine doing something (or something going wrong) and the speaker implies that serious or undesirable consequences would follow. It’s used when the speaker wants to caution or threaten, or when the situation is highly hypothetical and the outcome would be negative. It tends to be more forceful or dramatic than ordinary if-clauses, and is common in spoken and written Japanese in serious discussions, negotiations, or admonitions. The form attaches to the dictionary/plain form of verbs, adjectives, or nouns (with appropriate inflection), signaling something like “If you were to… then … (disastrous/firm consequence).” Typical contexts include expressing potential risks, warnings before a course of action, or strongly implying that someone should not do something. Examples: - そんなことを私に言うものなら、私は黙っていられない。 → If you say such a thing to me, I can’t keep quiet. - 雨が降るものなら、試合は中止だ。 → If it should rain, the match will be canceled. - 彼が来るものなら、計画は変更しなければならない。 → If he comes, we’ll have to change the plan. - このボタンを押すものなら、機械が止まらなくなる。 → If you press this button, the machine will not stop. - 彼が反対するものなら、私たちは別の案を探すしかない。 → If he objects, we have to look for another proposal.