Learn Hardcore Japanese: kouzyou no osen ga hueru to, kankyou ga waruku narimasu. - When factory pollution increases, the environment worsens.

の here is the genitive (possessive/attributive) particle. It links 工場 (factory) to 汚染 (pollution), creating the compound noun “pollution of the factory” or “factory pollution.”

Why is が used after 汚染 in 工場の汚染が増える instead of は?

が marks 汚染 as the grammatical subject of the intransitive verb 増える (“to increase”). It focuses on the fact that pollution itself increases. If you used は, you’d be setting “factory pollution” as a topic, which can imply contrast or shift the nuance.

What type of conditional is the と in 増えると、環境が悪くなります and how does it work?

This と is the “whenever/if → then” conditional that expresses an inevitable or natural consequence. It means “when pollution increases, the environment inevitably gets worse.” It’s used for general truths or automatic results.

What’s the difference between 増える and 増やす?

増える is intransitive: it means “to increase” (it increases by itself). 増やす is transitive: it means “to increase (something),” so you need a direct object (e.g. 汚染を増やす, “to make pollution increase”).

Why is 環境が悪くなります used instead of 環境は悪いです?

悪くなります (becomes bad) emphasizes a change of state—“the environment is getting worse.” 悪いです would merely state the current condition—“the environment is bad”—without highlighting that it’s getting worse.

How is 悪くなる formed grammatically from 悪い?

Take the i-adjective 悪い, drop the final い to get the adverbial stem 悪く, then add なる (“to become”). So 悪くなる means “to become bad” or “to worsen.”

Why is the verb なります in its polite form rather than the plain form なる?

なります is the polite (–masu) form, which is more appropriate for general statements, written contexts, or when you want to sound courteous. The plain form なる would be used in casual speech, inner thoughts, headlines, or subordinate clauses.

Can we replace the conditional と with たら, ば, or なら here?

Yes, you can, but the nuance shifts slightly:

増えたら: “once/if it increases” – a bit more hypothetical or sequential.
増えれば: “if it increases” – more formal/hypothetical.
増えるなら: “if it’s true that it increases” – adds a sense of supposition.
と is best for expressing an automatic, natural consequence.

What is the comma (読点「、」) doing after 増えると?

The comma marks a pause between the conditional clause and the main clause, improving readability. In Japanese, it’s optional but common when a conditional clause is long or when you want to signal the shift to the resulting action.