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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Is unless conditional?

Hello,

Are 'unless' statements conditional, like if statements? If so, how does it work in past tense:

Unless he did this, he could never do that.
Unless he convinced X, he might suffer.

What I mean is: since unless in the first clause expresses a condition, must the second clause always express a possibility about the future and about the future only? If so, should it always be could/might (as in my examples) instead of could have/might have in order to express the future condition?

Am I right?

Regards,
Unless
  

Top answer

Unless he did this, he could never do that. Unless he convinced X, he might suffer. " I think you're right about the second part of your question as well.

  • Unless he did this, he could never do that.
  • Unless he convinced X, he might suffer.
  • " I think you're right about the second part of your question as well.
  • "
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1 Answers
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Unless he did this, he could never do that.
Unless he convinced X, he might suffer.


Just an opinion:

I'd say you're right, because you can substitute "If he didn't do/convince" for "Unless etc."

I think you're right about the second part o

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