8. What If You…
“Common sense is anything but common.” - Voltaire
To get us ready for たい form + たら, we’re going to go over some grammar that is kind of a “set,” so to speak.
〜たら どう ですか？
Write that down. Let’s break this up.
どうですか means “how is it?” For example, if someone is working on something, and you wanted to check the progress of it, you might ask “どうですか” (how is it?) to see where they’re at and how they’re doing. This is a great phrase to know and one I’d put in your mind right now if you can.
The grammar point 〜たらどうですか just adds たら in there. The first たら part (what comes before the たら) is the “if.” The どうですか is the “then.” Essentially you’re saying…
“What about if you do __________?”
or
“How about if you ______?”
or
“Why don’t you _______?”
It all comes down to context with these. The “blank” spot is the stuff that comes before the たら. For example:
aすし を たべたら どう ですか？
What about if you eat sushi? How about you eat sushi?
aにほん へ いったら どう ですか？
How about you go to Japan?
aしつもん を きいたら どう ですか？
How about you ask a question?
aへんじ したら どうですか？
How about your reply?
aハリーポッター を よんだら どう ですか？
How about you read Harry Potter?
a本 を もっと よんだら どう ですか？
How about you read more books?
aスーパー に 入ったら どう ですか？
How about you enter the supermarket?
It all comes down to knowing どうですか, though. Do you have どうですか in your brain right now? Let’s do a bit of practice: