Breakdown of siken ga owattara, eiga wo mimasu.
をwo
direct object particle
映画eiga
movie
見るmiru
to watch
がga
subject particle
試験siken
exam
〜たら〜tara
conditional form
終るowaru
to finish
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Questions & Answers about siken ga owattara, eiga wo mimasu.
What does が do in 試験が終わったら?
In this time clause, が marks 試験 (“exam”) as the subject of the verb 終わる (“to end”). It tells us that it is the exam that finishes before the next action.
Why is 終わる in the past tense before adding ら, and how do you form the 〜たら conditional?
To create the 〜たら conditional (meaning “when/after X happens”), you take the verb’s past plain form and add ら. For 終わる:
- Plain past: 終わった
- Add ら → 終わったら (“when/after it ends”)
Could you use 終わったら interchangeably with 終わってから or 終わると, and what’s the difference among 〜たら, 〜てから, and 〜と?
They’re all ways to link actions in time, but with nuances:
- 終わったら (〜たら): “Once/after X happens,” used for one‐off or future plans.
- 終わってから (〜てから): “Only after X has completely finished,” emphasizing that Y must wait until X is done.
- 終わると (〜と): “Whenever/whenever X happens, Y follows,” often for natural or habitual consequences.
Examples: - 終わったら映画を見ます。 (I’ll watch a movie after the exam ends.)
- 終わってから映画を見ます。 (I won’t watch until it’s completely over.)
- 終わると映画を見る。 (Whenever the exam ends, I watch a movie.)
Why is 映画を見ます using を, and what tense does 見ます express?
を marks 映画 (“movie”) as the direct object of the verb 見る (“to watch”). 見ます is the polite present/future form; Japanese doesn’t have a separate future tense, so context tells us it means “(I) will watch.”
Can I switch to the plain/dictionary style and say the same thing?
Yes. In casual/plain speech you’d say:
試験が終わったら映画を見る。
Here 見る is the plain present form, making the sentence less formal.
Why do some texts spell it 終ったら without the わ (as opposed to 終わったら)?
That spelling comes from an older orthography where the kanji 終 stood in for おわ and only ったら was added. Modern standard usage writes 終わったら (including the わ). For learners, it’s best to use 終わったら.
Is it okay to replace 試験が終わったら with 試験は終わったら using は instead of が?
Grammatically it’s possible, but using が is more natural in a time‐conditional clause. は would turn 試験 into the topic and could add an unnecessary contrast or emphasis. Stick with が for smooth, native‐sounding timing expressions.