Conditional (If / Assuming That)

8 related grammar points that express the same core idea - compared below so you can tell which one to reach for.

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もし〜たなら / もしも〜なら

The hypothetical is a remote one you want marked as remote.

vs : もしも is もし with extra weight, so it suits the unlikely and the dramatic (もしもの時, 'if the worst happens'). For an ordinary supposition もし is enough, and もしも can sound theatrical.

すると / からには / 上は

Now that something is settled, saying what you are therefore obliged to do.

vs : Use からには. It takes a fact as given and draws a resolve or a duty from it (引き受けたからには最後まで). すると simply reports what followed next and carries no obligation at all.

The same 'now that' in formal writing.

vs : 上は is the written counterpart of からには, near-identical in meaning and stiffer in tone. Use it in documents and formal statements; からには is the one that works out loud.

ともなれば / とあれば / とすると

If the situation calls for it, something will be done regardless of cost.

vs : Use とあれば. It marks a condition under which the speaker will act anyway (必要とあれば). ともなれば describes what naturally comes with reaching a certain status or scale, which is a statement about the world rather than a commitment.

Reasoning out what would follow from a supposition.

vs : Use とすると. It is speculative: grant this, and what follows? とあれば assumes the condition will actually obtain and moves to action, so it cannot host a piece of hypothetical reasoning.