Alternate Meanings of と

[sharekoube]

I'm currently studying for the JLPT 3, and I came across this sentence in one of my study books:
橋を渡ると、公園に着きます。
hashi wo wataru to, kouen ni tsukimasu.

I understand the meaning of the sentence - Cross the bridge and you'll get to the park - but I don't understand the use of と in this context.

One of my co-workers who doesn't speak any English said that it's used as 「なになにすると、なになに」but I have no idea what that means as a grammatical structure.

I never took the level 4, so maybe it's listed in reference guides for that level? It's definitely not listed in the と section of my book - It only lists the 〜と思います、〜と言います forms.

I guess I probably don't have to worry about it for the JLPT, but it'd be nice to know how to use it in a new context. If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Taurus]

If you look down this list, I think the example you give is a use of the 'conditional' sense.

To quote from that article:

It translates into "as soon as," "when," "if," etc.

So in your example, if you cross the bridge, you get to the park.

Unless I'm mistaken.

[sharekoube]

Hey,

Thanks for your reply. I checked the conditional section in my book, and it was listed there. Go figure.

Stupid particles....

Thanks again!