Japanese · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 5 of 12
Society and the environment
社会と環境Shakai to kankyō
Discuss problems and solutions: say “if only” and “if we had…” with unreal conditions, “even if” with たとしても, and voice concern with おそれがある and かねない.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Talk about what isn't true or didn't happen with ～ば～のに and ～ていれば～ただろう
- Imagine a case with ～たとしても
- Express concern with おそれがある, かねない and のではないか
- Say there's no other choice with ～しかない
Listen
After a beach clean-up in Kitakyushu, colleagues Yano Shun and Oshima Rena talk about plastic waste and what could have been done. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Rena
お疲れさま。すごい量のごみだったね。ほとんどプラスチックじゃない？
Otsukaresama. Sugoi ryō no gomi datta ne. Hotondo purasuchikku ja nai?
Good work. That was a huge amount of rubbish. Wasn't it nearly all plastic?
Shun
うん、ペットボトルとか袋とか。みんながちゃんと分別して捨てれば、海には来ないのにね。
Un, petto botoru toka fukuro toka. Minna ga chanto bunbetsu shite sutereba, umi ni wa konai noni ne.
Yes, plastic bottles, bags and so on. If only everyone sorted their rubbish properly, it wouldn't end up in the sea.
Rena
でも、半分ぐらいは海外から流れてきたごみらしいよ。日本だけで減らしても、限界があるんじゃないかな。
Demo, hanbun gurai wa kaigai kara nagarete kita gomi rashii yo. Nihon dake de herashite mo, genkai ga aru n ja nai ka na.
But apparently about half of it drifted here from abroad. Even if Japan cuts down on its own, I suspect there's a limit.
Shun
それはそうだけど、何もしないわけにはいかないよ。このままだと、海の汚染がもっと進んで、魚が食べられなくなるおそれもあるらしいし。
Sore wa sō da kedo, nani mo shinai wake ni wa ikanai yo. Kono mama da to, umi no osen ga motto susunde, sakana ga taberarenaku naru osore mo aru rashii shi.
That's true, but we can't just do nothing. Apparently, if things go on like this, the sea will get even more polluted, and there's a risk we won't be able to eat the fish.
Rena
温暖化もそうだよね。最近の異常気象も、温暖化のせいだと言われているし。
Ondanka mo sō da yo ne. Saikin no ijō kishō mo, ondanka no sei da to iwarete iru shi.
Global warming is the same, isn't it? People say the extreme weather we've been having lately is caused by it too.
Shun
二十年前から本気で対策をしていれば、ここまでひどくならなかっただろうね。
Nijūnen mae kara honki de taisaku o shite ireba, koko made hidoku naranakatta darō ne.
If we'd taken serious measures twenty years ago, it probably wouldn't have got this bad.
Rena
うん。レジ袋だって、もっと早く有料にしていたら、海のごみもだいぶ減っていたと思う。
Un. Rejibukuro datte, motto hayaku yūryō ni shite itara, umi no gomi mo daibu hette ita to omou.
Yes. Take plastic shopping bags: if shops had started charging for them sooner, I think there'd be a lot less rubbish in the sea.
Shun
でも、過去は変えられないから、今できることをやるしかないね。
Demo, kako wa kaerarenai kara, ima dekiru koto o yaru shika nai ne.
But we can't change the past, so we just have to do what we can now.
Rena
そうだね。ただ、国が新しいルールを作ったとしても、一人一人の意識が変わらなければ、意味がないよね。
Sō da ne. Tada, kuni ga atarashii rūru o tsukutta to shite mo, hitori hitori no ishiki ga kawaranakereba, imi ga nai yo ne.
True. But even if the government makes new rules, it's pointless unless each of us changes the way we think.
Shun
うん。それに、リサイクルに頼りすぎるのもよくないよ。「リサイクルするから大丈夫」と思って、かえってごみが増えかねない。
Un. Sore ni, risaikuru ni tayorisugiru no mo yokunai yo. “Risaikuru suru kara daijōbu” to omotte, kaette gomi ga fuekanenai.
Right. And relying too much on recycling isn't good either. People think “it's fine, it'll be recycled”, and we could well end up with even more rubbish.
Rena
じゃあ、まずは自分からだね。明日から水筒を持っていこうかな。会社の取り組みとして、みんなにも提案してみる？
Jā, mazu wa jibun kara da ne. Ashita kara suitō o motte ikō ka na. Kaisha no torikumi to shite, minna ni mo teian shite miru?
So it starts with ourselves. Maybe I'll take a water bottle from tomorrow. Shall we suggest it to everyone as a company initiative?
Shun
いいね。次の会議で話してみよう。環境の危機は、遠い話じゃないからね。
Ii ne. Tsugi no kaigi de hanashite miyō. Kankyō no kiki wa, tōi hanashi ja nai kara ne.
Good idea. Let's bring it up at the next meeting. The environmental crisis isn't something far away, after all.
Understand
If only: unreal conditions
For things that aren't true or didn't happen, Japanese uses the conditionals you know with typical endings. ～ば～のに (-ba … noni) is a wish or a complaint, “if only …”: (minna ga bunbetsu sureba, umi ni wa konai noni), if only everyone sorted it, it wouldn't reach the sea. In the past it often becomes ～ばよかったのに (-ba yokatta noni): (ieba yokatta noni), you should have said so.
For the past, put the condition in ～ていれば (-te ireba) or ～ていたら (-te itara), if … had …, and end with ～ただろう (-ta darō), would probably have: (taisaku o shite ireba, hidoku naranakatta darō), if we'd taken measures, it wouldn't have got so bad. Ending with ～ていた (-te ita) sounds more certain: (yūryō ni shite itara, hette ita), if they'd charged for them, it would have gone down.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| …、… (… ba, … noni) | if only … (then …) | (jikan ga areba ikeru noni), if only I had time, I could go |
| …、… (… te ireba, … ta darō) | if … had …, … would probably have … | (hayaku dete ireba, ma ni atta darō), if I'd left earlier, I'd probably have made it |
| …、… (… tara, … te ita) | if … had …, … would have … (sure) | (ato ippun osokattara, noriokurete ita), one minute later and I'd have missed it |
Even supposing: ～たとしても
～たとしても (-ta to shite mo) means “even if, even supposing”: it imagines a case and says it wouldn't change the outcome. It follows the plain past: (rūru o tsukutta to shite mo), even if they made a rule. Nouns and な-adjectives take (datta to shite mo). (tatoe) at the start of the sentence makes it stronger.
- たとえ雨が降ったとしても、清掃活動は行います。Tatoe ame ga futta to shite mo, seisō katsudō wa okonaimasu.Even if it rains, the clean-up will go ahead.
- 値段が高かったとしても、環境にいいものを選びたい。Nedan ga takakatta to shite mo, kankyō ni ii mono o erabitai.Even if it costs more, I want to choose things that are good for the environment.
Expressing concern
～おそれがある (osore ga aru), there's a risk that …, is formal and common in the news and weather warnings. It follows the dictionary form or noun + (no): (kawa ga afureru osore ga arimasu), the river may overflow. ～かねない (kanenai) after the ます stem means “could well …” about something bad, often caused by people's own actions: (gomi ga fuekanenai), it could well increase the rubbish. It looks negative but means “might”.
～のではないか (no de wa nai ka), casually (n ja nai ka na), puts forward a worry or a guess: (genkai ga aru n ja nai ka na), I suspect there's a limit. ～しかない (shika nai) after the dictionary form means there's no other choice: (yaru shika nai), we just have to do it.
| Pattern | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| ～おそれがある (-osore ga aru) | there is a risk that … | formal: news, warnings |
| ～かねない (-kanenai) | could well … (something bad) | formal and spoken |
| ～のではないか (-no de wa nai ka) | I'm afraid …, I suspect … | casual: (n ja nai ka na) |
| ～しかない (-shika nai) | there's nothing for it but to … | all registers |
More in the grammar: Conditionals: ～ば, ～たら, ～と, ～なら
New words
- ごみgomirubbish · (gomi o suteru), to throw rubbish away
- プラスチックpurasuchikkuplastic
- 分別bunbetsusorting (rubbish) · ぶんべつ; (bunbetsu shite suteru), to sort and throw away; read (funbetsu), the same kanji mean “good judgement”
- 汚染osenpollution · おせん; (umi no osen), sea pollution; (genkai ga aru), there's a limit
- 温暖化ondankaglobal warming · おんだんか; in full: (chikyū ondanka)
- 異常気象ijō kishōextreme weather · いじょうきしょう
- 対策taisakumeasures, steps (against a problem) · たいさく; (taisaku o suru), to take measures
- 有料yūryōcharged for, not free · ゆうりょう; opposite: (muryō), free
- 意識ishikiawareness, attitude, the way people think · いしき
- リサイクルrisaikururecycling · (risaikuru ni tayoru), to rely on recycling
- ～かねないkanenaicould well … (something bad) · after the ます stem: (fuekanenai)
- 取り組みtorikumiinitiative, effort (to tackle something) · とりくみ; (suitō), a water bottle, is one small step; verb: (torikumu); (teian suru), to suggest, to propose
- 危機kikicrisis · きき; (kankyō no kiki), the environmental crisis
- 環境kankyōenvironment · かんきょう; (kankyō ni ii), good for the environment
Practise
1.Which sentence means “If we had started earlier, it probably wouldn't have got this bad”?
2.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.We just have to do what we can now.
3.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.Which form is correct? ___ (If we rely too much on recycling, the rubbish could well increase.)
5.The weather forecast says (Ōame de kawa ga afureru osore ga arimasu.) What does it mean?
6.You'd love to go to the clean-up, but you're too busy. How do you say “If only I had time, I could go”?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
みんなが分別すれば、海のごみは減るのに。
Minna ga bunbetsu sureba, umi no gomi wa heru noni.
If only everyone sorted their rubbish, there'd be less of it in the sea.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.