JLPT N3: ～たら... だろう（に）《if... would have...》

When you want to say "if X had happened, then Y would have happened," you can use ～たら... だろう (に).

In more formal speech, though, you'll use でしょう instead of だろう.

An example:

それが東京だったら、被害はもっと大きかったでしょう。
それ　が　とうきょう　だったら、　ひがい　は　もっと　おおきかった　でしょう。
If that had been Tokyo, the damage would have been worse.
Literally: “that + が + Tokyo + if (it) were, + damage (e.g. from an earthquake) + は + more + was big + でしょう.”
Note: The speaker could, for example, be talking about a destructive earthquake, storm, etc. that caused damage to somewhere other than Tokyo.

First, X is the thing which did not happen:

それが東京だったら
それ　が　とうきょう　だったら
if that had been Tokyo
Literally: “that + が + Tokyo + if (it) were”

Then Y is the thing that would have happened if X had happened:

被害はもっと大きかったでしょう。
ひがい　は　もっと　おおきかった　でしょう。
the damage would have been worse.
Literally: “damage (e.g. from an earthquake) + は + more + was big + でしょう.”

If X had happened, Y would have happened:

それが東京だったら、被害はもっと大きかったでしょう。
それ　が　とうきょう　だったら、　ひがい　は　もっと　おおきかった　でしょう。
If that had been Tokyo, the damage would have been worse.
Literally: “that + が + Tokyo + if (it) were, + damage (e.g. from an earthquake) + は + more + was big + でしょう.”

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Here's another example:

病院に着くのがあと1時間遅かったら、彼は命を落としていたでしょう。
びょういん　に　つく　の　が　あと　いちじかん　おそかったら、　かれ　は　いのち　を　おとしていた　でしょう。
If he had gotten to the hospital just one hour later, he would have died.
Literally: “hospital + に + arrive + の + が + after / more + one hour + if (he) were late, + he + は + life + を + was losing / was dropping + でしょう.”

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One more:

叔父さんたちが遊びに来るのを知っていたら、ビールを冷やしておいたでしょう。
おじさん　たち　が　あそび　に　くる　の　を　しっていたら、　ビール　を　ひやして　おいた　でしょう。
If I had known that my uncles were coming to visit, I would have chilled some beer for them.
Literally: “uncle + たち + が + come to visit (=playing + に + come) + の + を + if (I) had been knowing, + beer + を + chilled (in advance) (=chill [and] + set / placed) + でしょう.”
Note: It's not necessarily only "uncles" that are visiting. The uncle's (or uncles') other family members may be there, too.

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👷 Construction 👷

Our X phrase will end with ～たら, and then our Y phrase will end with だろう(or でしょう):

～たら... だろう [でしょう]（に）

This works when ～たら is attaching to verbs (Vたら), i-adjectives (～かったら), or na-adjectives or nouns (na-adj / N だったら).

We don't need to color code all of that, do we? After all, you can get a conjugation refresher here: [NDL #484] - JLPT N4: ～たら (if).

Another reason I don't want to start color coding this lesson is that there are too many possibilities for the conditional phrase in the first half of our sentence. Aside from ～たら, we can also use:

V ば... だろう（に）
i-adjective ければ... だろう（に）
na-adjective / noun なら... だろう（に）

If these conjugations are scaring you, I recommend reading this lesson: [NDL #736] - JLPT N4: ～ば.

We'll also see them in our examples below. First, though, I should mention...

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に！

～たら... だろう is often — but not exclusively — used when the speaker is regretful or disappointed that a situation isn't or wasn't different.

We saw that in this example:

叔父さんたちが遊びに来るのを知っていたら、ビールを冷やしておいたでしょう。
おじさん　たち　が　あそびに　くる　の　を　しっていたら、　ビール　を　ひやして　おいた　でしょう。
If I had known that my uncles were coming to visit, I would have chilled some beer for them.
Literally: “uncle + たち + が + come to visit (=playing + に + come) + の + を + if (I) had been knowing, + beer + を + chilled (in advance) (=chill [and] + set / placed) + でしょう.”

When we stick に on to the very end of our sentence, after だろう or でしょう, it gives the sentence an added nuance of regret, disappointment, etc.

Take these three sentences, for example:

日焼け止めを塗っていれば、そんなことにはならなかっただろうに。
ひやけどめ　を　ぬっていれば、　そんな　こと　に　は　ならなかった　だろうに。
If you had just worn sunscreen, that never would have happened.
Literally: “sunscreen + を + if (you) had been plastering / smearing, + that kind of + thing + に + は + didn’t become + だろう + に.”

もう少し手が大きければ、もっと上手に弾けるでしょうに。
もうすこし　て　が　おおきければ、　もっと　じょうず　に　ひける　でしょうに。
If my hands were just a bit bigger, I’d be able to play better.
Literally: “a bit more + hands + が + if (they) were bigger, + more + skilled + に + can play (an instrument) + でしょう + に.”

もっと英語が上手なら、いい仕事が見つかるだろうに。
もっと　えいご　が　じょうず　なら、　いい　しごと　が　みつかる　だろうに。
If my English were better, I’d be able to find a good job.
Literally: “more + English + が + skilled + if (it’s the case), + good + job + が + be found + だろう + に.”

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That's all for this one.

These conditional sentences might feel a bit confusing. Taking time with the word-by-word breakdowns will help.

Coming back to lessons after reaching a higher level always helps, too. ^_^