Breakdown of kaigisitu ga aitara, soko de hanasimasyou.
Questions & Answers about kaigisitu ga aitara, soko de hanasimasyou.
Why is 会議室 marked with が here?
Because 空く is an intransitive verb, and が marks the thing that becomes empty / becomes available.
So:
- 会議室が空く = the meeting room becomes available
- not 会議室を空く ✘
Using が also feels natural because the room is the thing whose state changes.
You could sometimes see 会議室は空いたら in a different context, but が is the most neutral and natural choice here.
What exactly does 空いたら mean?
空いたら is:
- 空いた = past short form of 空く
- ら = conditional if / when
Together, 空いたら means if it becomes available or when it becomes available.
A very important point: with 〜たら, Japanese uses the past form before ら even when the meaning is about the future.
So:
- 会議室が空いたら = when/if the meeting room becomes free
It does not mean the room already became free in the past.
Why is it 空いたら from 空く, not something like 空けたら?
Because 空く and 空ける are a pair:
- 空く(あく) = to become empty / become available
- intransitive
- 空ける(あける) = to empty something / make something available
- transitive
In this sentence, the room is becoming available by itself from the speaker’s point of view, so 空く is the right verb.
- 会議室が空いたら = when the meeting room opens up / becomes free
- 会議室を空けたら would mean something more like when someone empties the meeting room
Does 〜たら mean if or when here?
It can suggest either, depending on context.
- if = if the room becomes available
- when = when the room becomes available
In this sentence, English often prefers when because it sounds like the speakers expect the room to become free and plan to talk at that time.
So the nuance is often:
- Once the meeting room is free, let’s talk there.
Japanese 〜たら is flexible and often covers both ideas.
What does そこ refer to?
そこ refers to the meeting room just mentioned.
Japanese often uses words like:
- ここ = here
- そこ = there
- あそこ = over there
But these words are not only about physical distance. They can also refer back to something already mentioned in the conversation.
So here そこ basically means:
- that place
- in context: the meeting room
That is why the sentence does not need to repeat 会議室 again.
Why is there a で after そこ?
Because で marks the place where an action happens.
Here, the action is 話す = to talk, so the place of that action is marked with で:
- そこで話す = talk there
Compare:
- で = where an action takes place
- に = destination / existence point / specific target in many cases
So:
- そこで話しましょう = let’s talk there ✔
- そこに話しましょう ✘ sounds unnatural here
What does 話しましょう mean exactly?
話しましょう is the polite volitional form of 話す.
It means:
- let’s talk
- shall we talk
It is a polite suggestion that includes the speaker and the listener.
So the tone is cooperative and inviting, not forceful.
Compare:
- 話す = talk
- 話します = will talk / talk (polite)
- 話しましょう = let’s talk
Why is there no subject like we in the sentence?
Because Japanese often leaves out subjects when they are obvious from context.
In English, we usually need to say:
- we’ll talk there
- let’s talk there
In Japanese, if the speaker and listener are clearly the people involved, we is simply understood.
So 話しましょう naturally implies:
- let’s talk
- you and I / we should talk
This kind of omission is extremely common in Japanese.
Why doesn’t 話す have an object here? What are they talking about?
Because 話す can be used without stating the topic when the topic is already understood or not important.
Here the sentence focuses on where and when the talking will happen, not what will be discussed.
If you wanted to specify the topic, you could say something like:
- そこでその件について話しましょう。
= Let’s talk about that matter there.
But in the original sentence, leaving the topic unstated sounds perfectly natural.
Could 会議室が空けば be used instead of 会議室が空いたら?
Yes, but the nuance changes a little.
- 空いたら often feels tied to a specific event or sequence:
when it becomes available, then let’s talk there - 空けば is also conditional, but can sound a bit more general or hypothetical
In this sentence, 空いたら is very natural because it suggests:
- the room becomes free
- then we talk there
That step-by-step feeling fits the situation well.
Why is there a comma after 空いたら?
The comma helps separate the condition from the main action:
- 会議室が空いたら、 = when the meeting room is free,
- そこで話しましょう。 = let’s talk there.
It makes the sentence easier to read.
The comma is helpful and common, but in casual writing it is not always absolutely required.
Do Japanese sentences normally have spaces like this: 会議室 が 空いたら、 そこ で 話しましょう。?
No. Standard Japanese is normally written without spaces between words:
- 会議室が空いたら、そこで話しましょう。
The spaces are often added in learning materials to make the structure easier to see.
So the natural normal written form is:
会議室が空いたら、そこで話しましょう。
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning JapaneseMaster Japanese — from kaigisitu ga aitara, soko de hanasimasyou to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions