Using と to link clauses instead of て


I've seen several posts saying that と cannot be used to mean 'and' when
linking clauses. They say it should be treated as 'when'. I have come across
several sentences in my studies that do not support this conclusion e.g.

> 鬼は、一寸｛いっすん}ぼうしを吐き出すと、大急ぎで逃げていきました
>
> The ogre spit out 一寸ぼうし 'and' hurriedly ran away.
>
> *When the ogre spit out 一寸ぼうし he hurriedly ran away

It doesn't feel right to interpret と as 'when' here because that would imply
that I already knew the ogre had/was going to spit him out (I don't know this
from the prior sentences in the story).

Furthermore, grammar books tell me that と should be used to mean 'when' only
if the main clause is a natural consequence of the condition. Here's another
sentence from the same story

> 都に着くと、いっ寸ぼうしは大臣の家に行きました。
>
> When he arrived at the capital, いっ寸ぼうし went to the nobleman's house.

Using 'when' makes sense here since I already knew he was going to the
capital, but, going to the nobleman's house isn't a natural consequence of
arriving in the capital (in fact, I would claim it was volitional. And
volitional statements are explicitly banned when using と to mean 'when'). If I
move いっ寸ぼうしは to the front of the sentence I could equally well translate the
sentence as "いっ寸ぼうし arrived at the capital and went to the nobleman's house."
Can someone please provide some insight into the use of と in sentences like
these. Also, could I write 鬼は、一寸ぼうしを吐き出して、大急ぎで逃げていきました for the first sentence,
and how would it differ in meaning/nuance?




  1. 鬼は、一寸ぼうしを吐き出すと、大急ぎで逃げていきました is a lot closer to "When the ogre spit out 一寸ぼうし he hurriedly ran away" than "The ogre spit out 一寸ぼうし 'and' hurriedly ran away.", which is close to 鬼は、一寸ぼうしを吐き出 **して** 大急ぎで逃げていきました.

  2. と should be used to mean 'when' only if the main clause is a natural **consequence of the condition** , which means the main clause should be conditional or habitual past instead of ~~indicative~~ past indicative, that is, statement of a realized fact. Now, the example sentence is past indicative, or statement of a fact. So, that explanation above is irrelevant to your example.

Edit: "natural consequence of the condition" doesn't mean if you know it or
not, but that a thing that the main clause stands for happens regardless of
your intention under the condition, or so.

  3. Simple temporal usage of と is rare (should I say hardly heard?) in everyday conversation, but frequently used in narrative.




  1. 鬼は、一寸ぼうしを吐き出すと、大急ぎで逃げていきました is a lot closer to "When the ogre spit out 一寸ぼうし he hurriedly ran away" than "The ogre spit out 一寸ぼうし 'and' hurriedly ran away.", which is close to 鬼は、一寸ぼうしを吐き出 **して** 大急ぎで逃げていきました.

  2. と should be used to mean 'when' only if the main clause is a natural **consequence of the condition** , which means the main clause should be conditional or habitual past instead of ~~indicative~~ past indicative, that is, statement of a realized fact. Now, the example sentence is past indicative, or statement of a fact. So, that explanation above is irrelevant to your example.

Edit: "natural consequence of the condition" doesn't mean if you know it or
not, but that a thing that the main clause stands for happens regardless of
your intention under the condition, or so.

  3. Simple temporal usage of と is rare (should I say hardly heard?) in everyday conversation, but frequently used in narrative.

