Grammar and Reading: Conditionals, Particles, and Passage Logic
Grammar targets
N3 grammar extends N4 foundations: conditionals (と, ば, たら, なら), passive, causative and causative-passive (させられる), giving and receiving (てあげる/てもらう/てくれる), honorific and humble forms, and sentence-final modality (ようだ, らしい, みたい, そうだ). You must also control particle choice (は vs が, に vs で) and verb conjugation across te-form, potential, volitional, and conditional forms.
Traps
Conditionals are frequently confused. と states a natural or automatic consequence and cannot end in a request; たら is the most flexible and can follow a completed action; ば is hypothetical and often paired with 〜ほど; なら responds to a topic already mentioned. In reading, the biggest trap is choosing an answer that is true in real life but not stated in the passage. Watch 指示語 (これ/それ/あれ/この/その) and connectives (しかし, つまり, たとえば) because they mark the author's logic. In 情報検索 questions, scan for condition words (無料, 締め切り, 対象) before reading whole paragraphs.
Worked rule
For conditional questions, check the main clause. If it is a request, invitation, or volitional form (〜てください, 〜ませんか, 〜つもりだ), と is usually wrong. If the sentence means "when or if that happens, then...", たら is the safe default, as in 雨が降ったら、試合は中止です. For reading, underline the sentence containing the question's keyword and confirm that the answer choice paraphrases that exact sentence.