日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N3

～さえ～ば

~sae ~ba

if only

When to use it

Use ～さえ～ば to single out one condition as the only thing needed for a result — everything else is dismissed as unproblematic. It is more emphatic and more argumentative than plain ～ば/～たら, so it appears often in negotiation (conceding all but one point) and in retrospective blame or regret with the past form (～ていれば). In formal writing and reports it frames a minimal sufficient condition.

Formation

  • Verb: ます-stem ＋ さえすれば（確認さえすれば）; also て-form ＋ さえいれば（守ってさえいれば）; potential/intransitive verbs commonly take さえ on the noun instead（承認さえ下りれば）
  • Noun: N ＋ さえ ＋ あれば／なら／得られれば etc.（資料さえあれば）; particles are usually dropped, but を→ さえ, に→ にさえ
  • い-adjective: stem ＋ くさえあれば（安くさえあれば）
  • な-adjective / Noun: ＋ でさえあれば（明確でさえあれば）
  • Negative counterpart: ～さえ～なければ（ミスさえなければ）

Examples

  • If we can just get the director's approval, we'll start next week.

  • If we can just come to terms on price, we're flexible on everything else.

  • Had we only double-checked the figures, the criticism could have been avoided.

  • This would have been settled if only the agenda had been shared in advance.

  • As long as the terms are clear, I can get it through internally.