Unless

Question

Hello guys! I have to tell you that in my last class the teacher was explaining Conditionals 1, 2 and 3. And suddenly 'unless' appeared! Well, I knew it. But the explanation left me a little confused. And I want to know if what he said is correct.

He give these sentences:

1. They don't know if they'll like the dress. They want to buy it.

2. We can't speak English, so we can't apply for the job.

3. Music that is too loud hurts your ears.

4. There is work to do. I can't go out.

And then he made them using the 'unless'.

1. Unless they like the dress, they won't buy it. [he chose the first conditional]

2. Unless we spoke English, we wouldn't be able to apply for the job. [he chose the second conditional]

3. Unless music was too loud, it wouldn't hurt your ears. [he chose the second conditional]

4. Unless there was work to do, I would be able to go out. [he chose the second conditional]

Well, I have to say that he doesn't have the best way to explain clearly. So, here I go. Tomorrow I have a test about this and I can't understand at all.

Also, I see that sometimes he uses the 'were' in second conditional, and sometimes he uses 'was'.

But as I know, the correct way is for example:

1. If I were you, I'd do it. +

2. If I wasn't tired, I wouldn't go to bed. X

Well, I hope you can help me with this.

Thanks in advance!

Emmanuel

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Hi Emmanuel;

Just think of "unless" as meaning "if...not"

I must say that I customarily place the unless clause after the main clause.

The conditionals with "unless" are a bit tricky. You should have a good grasp on the conditionals constructed with "if," and realize that not all if-conditionals can be directly converted to unless-conditionals. Here are some examples.

Consider these sentences and the positive (+) or negative (-) character of each clause. (I must say that I customarily place the unless clause after the main clause)

1) The shopping trip is in the future, so I don't know if I will like the dress or not.

If I like the dress, I will buy it. (+, +)

If I do not like the dress, I won't buy it. (-,-)
If... not = unless

Unless I like the dress, I won't buy it. (+, -) (= I won't buy the dress unless I like it.)

2) We can't speak English, so "we speak English" is a false statement.

If we spoke English, we would apply for the job. (+, +)

If we can't speak English, we will not apply for the job. (-,-)

If...not = unless:

Unless we spoke English, we wouldn't apply for the job. (+, -) (= We would not apply for the job unless we spoke English.)

3)
a) The music is deafening.
If the music weren't so loud (hypothetical situation), it would not hurt your ears. (-, +)
Unless they turn the music down, it will hurt your ears.

b) The music is so soft, we can't hear it.
If the music were louder, we would be able to hear it.
Unless the music were louder, we will not be able to hear it.

4) There may or may not be some work to do.
I can't go out if there is work to do. (+, -)

I can't go out unless there is no work to do. (-,-)

So you see that the "unless-clause" can be converted in most cases to the corresponding "if-clause" by changing its positive/negative character. A direct conversion is not possible if the hypothetical (false) statement has to be negative.

Emmanuell · Answer

Oh I see... but I still have a doubt. Teacher said thet we can't put 'Unles I weren't you', because we would be using two negative words 'Unless = if not' and 'weren't = were not'...so I can't understand what is the real meaning in these two examples:

1. If I weren't smart, I wouldn't do it in the right way.

2. Unless I weren't smart, I would do it in the right way.

Or in your examples...

AlpheccaStars4) There may or may not be some work to do.
I can't go out if there is work to do. (+, -)

I can't go out unless there is no work to do. (-,-)

Thanks again,

Emmanuel.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

You are correct about unless and negatives.

In your example, #2 does not sound right.

However the following are OK. The if-condition is not a hypothetical situation, but a truth statement (zero conditional). It is not describing a future condition, but kind of a general eternal rule. We can state it either as a negative or positive condition. (Unless = except if)

I can't go out unless there is no work to do.

I can't go out unless there isn't any work to do.

The next example is first conditional. It describes an intention in the future, that is entirely possible. Since "there is no work to do" can be either true or false, you can state it either in the negative or positive, with the same meaning.

I won't go out if there is work to do.

I will go out unless there is work to do.

I will go out if there is no work to do.

I won't go out unless there is no work to do.

Next, the second conditional (statements contrary to fact) does not have the liberty of stating the condition in either the positive or negative. You have to state it as contrary to fact, and that has to be recognizable for the listener. Because of this, unless-conditions are not as often used in the second conditional. I have been trying to think of examples, so to come up with a rule, but it is difficult. It seems to depend on how strong the probability of the contrary to fact statement is, and how the exceptional condition can be expressed using unless. Here is an example:

People are real smart. They will not fall for your scheme.

If people weren't so smart, they would fall for your scheme. (If-conditional)

To make an unless-conditional that was natural, and with the same meaning. I had to change the adjective "smart" to its opposite "dumb" in order to avoid a direct negative:

People wouldn't fall for your scheme unless (except if) they were really dumb. (In the unlikely case that you happened to find a dumb person, they would fall for your scheme.)

This is its equivalent in the negative, and it is grammatically correct, but logically difficult to understand. There is the first negative, the second negative, and then the exceptional nature of "unless." That's why this kind of construction is seldom seen or heard.

People wouldn't fall for your scheme unless they weren't very smart.

Unless

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