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ROBIN UK Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Question in unless grammer .

HI everyone. I need to ask you something in unless grammer.

The example:

If the door is open, the machine cannot sart.

If the door is closed , the machine can start.

Unless the door is closed, the machine cannot start.

Can we say ( Unless the door is open , the machine can star ) , and if its not why?

  

Top answer

"Unless the door is open, the machine can start" is logically correct, but seems kind of "back to front" and therefore an unlikely thing to want to say. This is because "Unless X, Y" normally implies that we don't want Y to happen. Here, we do (presumably) want the machine to start.

— Mr Wordy

  • "Unless the door is open, the machine can start" is logically correct, but seems kind of "back to front" and therefore an unlikely thing to want to say.
  • This is because "Unless X, Y" normally implies that we don't want Y to happen.
  • Here, we do (presumably) want the machine to start.
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2 Answers
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"Unless the door is open, the machine can start" is logically correct, but seems kind of "back to front" and therefore an unlikely thing to want to say. This is because "Unless X, Y" normally implies that we don't want Y to happen. Here, we do (presumably) want the machine to start.
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ROBIN UKCan we say ( Unless the door is open , the machine can star ) , and if its not why?
Use quotes or italics, not parentheses, for the example sentence you're referring to.

Can we say, "Unless the door is open, the machine can start", and if not, why?
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