さえ～ば

About

The ～さえ～ば pattern is a combination of the さえ particle and the ば conditional marker, and is used to express "If only.../As long as...".

The ～さえ～ば pattern can attach directly to nouns, particles (excluding が・は・を), to て form verbs, and to verb stems.

E.g. このパスワードさえわかればなぁ！ "If only I knew this password!"

E.g. スマホさえあれば、テレビも手帳てちょうもいらない。 "As long as (you) have a smartphone, you don't need a TV or a notebook."

For verbs, ～てさえ is most commonly followed by いれば・いなければ, but also may be followed by verbs such as くれれば・もらえば・しまえば.

E.g. 勝かってさえいれば、それでいい。 "As long as we're winning, that's enough."

For verbs, 「(verb stem)さえ」 should be followed by すれば・しなければ.

E.g. あのバスに乗のりさえすれば、空港くうこうに行いけます。 "As long as you get on that bus, you can go to the airport."

～さえ～ば may also attach to い or な-adjectives, but this is less common.

Summary

• 

  The ～さえ～ば pattern is used to express "If only.../As long as..."

• 

  The ～さえ～ば pattern can attach directly to nouns, particles (excluding が・は・を), to て form verbs, and to verb stems