if/ when

Question

All construction workers and visitors must wear a safety helmet ____ on the construction site.A) ifB) unlessC) despiteD) when (correct)Can I choose A also? Why not? Please advise.LC

Inchoateknowledge · Accepted Answer

A is not idiomatic: you cannot use if.

Milky · Answer

InchoateknowledgeA is not idiomatic: you cannot use if.

Why not?

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

"Can I choose A also? Why not? Please advise."

The inference of this sentence is that the poster knows the answer to this problem, he checked it: not A, but B, C or D.

Seloc@n · Answer

LcchangAll construction workers and visitors must wear a safety helmet ____ on the construction site.

A) if
B) unless
C) despite
D) when (correct)

Can I choose A also? Why not? Please advise.

LC

Have you ever studied on reduction of time adverbials ?

this sentence implies a time ,not a condition. I thinkk so

Turkgokhan40 · Answer

If we would say "A",then could be semantically wrong choice.

Goodman · Answer

LcchangAll construction workers and visitors must wear a safety helmet ____ on the construction site.

A) if
B) unless
C) despite
D) when (correct)

Can I choose A also? Why not? Please advise.

LC

Many learners get confused with multiple-choice questions where every answer choice seems possible; not this one however. Semantically, this sentence can only have “when” as the correct answer.

All construction workers and visitors must wear a safety helmet when entering the construction site. (by the way, I modified “on” to “when entering” to make it sound more affective)

On the list, all choices are conditional words and each one requires a specific condition in which it can only applies properly. B and C obviously didn’t meet that requirement semantically or as written. In this context, “workers and visitors must wear a safety helmet” it signifies a requirement, rather than a condition.

[If] may be a workable choice, if applied to “when entering”. However,“If on construction site” does not sound right to my ears, although the meaning may get across. That said, warning or notice of this kind is more correct affective with “when”.

Consider the following: All residents must evacuate the building calmly from the fire escape stairwells when fire alarm is activated. (not if). “When” is translated as “in the event of”.

Milky · Answer

It's all nonsense. "If" can be used there. The meaning will be different to that of "when", but it can be used nevertheless.

CalifJim · Answer

Can I choose A also? Why not? Please advise.

The instructions on most such tests ask the student to choose the best answer, not a correct answer.

Given the choices, only when is the best answer, mostly on the grounds of idiomaticity. The helmet-wearing requirement applies at certain times, so the time-related word when is more appropriate. if lacks a temporal element to the point where even such a statement as the following is possible:

Employees must wear a safety helmet if on the construction site at any time during the work week.

This would require the wearing of the helmet continuously all week during any week in which one was on the construction site for only one minute!

CJ

Goodman · Answer

MilkyIt's all nonsense. "If" can be used there. The meaning will be different to that of "when", but it can be used nevertheless.

Milky,

Read my post again. I said “Semantically, this sentence can only have “when” as the correct answer. What it is that made you think it’s all nonsense?

“If” is the wrong choice, based on the context, period! Unless the sentence is worded as suggest by CJ.

Milky · Answer

<Given the choices, only when is the best answer, mostly on the grounds of idiomaticity.>

Whose?

if/ when

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