Breakdown of gomibako ga ippai ni nattara, hukuro wo sairiyousimasu.
をwo
direct object particle
がga
subject particle
なるnaru
to become
〜たら〜tara
conditional form
ごみ箱gomihako
trash can
袋hukuro
bag
いっぱい にippai ni
full
再利用するsairiyousuru
to reuse
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Questions & Answers about gomibako ga ippai ni nattara, hukuro wo sairiyousimasu.
Why is が used after ごみ箱 instead of は?
In Japanese, the verb なる (“to become”) takes a が-marked subject, not a topic-marked は. So you say ごみ箱がいっぱいになる (“the trash can becomes full”). If you used は, you’d be making “the trash can” the topic rather than the grammatical subject of “becoming full,” which sounds less natural in this conditional pattern.
What role does 〜たら play in なったら here?
〜たら is the conditional/temporal form attached to the past tense of a verb. With なったら, it literally means “when it has become” or “once it becomes.” In this sentence it’s used as a time-marker: “When the trash can becomes full, [then] …”
What’s the difference between いっぱい and いっぱいに?
- いっぱい by itself can be a noun or な-adjective meaning “full” or “a lot.”
- Adding に turns it into an adverbial phrase that modifies verbs.
So in いっぱいに なる, the に lets いっぱい modify なる, giving “to become full.”
Why is there a comma after なったら?
In Japanese punctuation (especially in informal or instructional text), a comma (、) separates clauses to show a clear break in ideas. Here it separates the conditional clause (ごみ箱がいっぱいになったら) from the main clause (袋を再利用します).
What is 再利用します, and how is this verb formed?
再利用 (さいりよう) is a noun meaning “reuse” (lit. “again use”), and します is the polite present form of する (“to do”). Together 再利用します means “(I) reuse.” It’s a common 名詞＋する compound verb, like 利用する (to use) or 準備する (to prepare).
Could I say ゴミ箱がいっぱいになったら、袋をリサイクルします instead?
Not if you mean “I’ll use the same bag again.”
- リサイクルする means to break materials down and process them for recycling.
- 再利用する means to use the same item again “as is.”
So to express “I’ll just reuse the bag,” you need 再利用します.
In 袋を再利用します, what does 袋 refer to? Does it mean “trash bag”?
Yes. Here 袋 implies the trash bag you’d normally throw away. The sentence omits ごみ because context makes it clear. You could say ごみ袋を再利用します (“I’ll reuse the garbage bag”), but just 袋 is fine when the situation is obvious.
What does ごみ in ごみ箱 mean? Is that the honorific prefix ご?
No—the ご in ごみ is part of the word for “trash/garbage,” not an honorific.
- ごみ is the native Japanese word for garbage (often written in hiragana).
- 箱 (はこ) means “box.”
Together ごみ箱 means “garbage bin” or “trash can.”