Unless problem

Question

hii...can anybody plz tell me the exact meaning of...

.......unless michael is not our squatter...........

to my perception its meaning is.........if michael is not our sqatter..

but i am not able to comprehend the fact of using 'unless' and 'not' together in one sentence

because unless means 'if not'..

there is no way i can get the sense of replacing 'unless' with 'if not'..

in case if i do replace 'unless' with 'if not'....then the whole sentence will be like..>>if not michael is not our squatter

i am not able to sort out this...plz help me on that if anybody could..

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

First, have a look here for a better definition of 'unless' as a conjunction.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unless?show=0&t=1307557208

The 'not' makes your example a bit hard to comprehend. Let's begin by considering a simpler example, without 'not'.

eg I will get wet unless the rain stops.

Consider the possible conditions.

The rain stops. I won't get vwet.

The rain doesn't stop. I will get wet.

Other ways to express this are

I will get wet if the rain does not stop.

I will get wet except on the condition that the rain stops.

.can anybody plz tell me the exact meaning of...

..unless michael is not our squatter.. This sounds odd without any context. But let's give it a simple one.

I will give you $1 unless Michael is not our squatter.

Consider the possible conditions. (I hope I get this right. The extra 'not' hurts my brain.

)

1. Michael is our squatter. I will give you $1.

2. Michael is not our squatter. I will not give you $1.

Other ways to express the example is

I will not give you $1 if Michael is not our squatter.

I will give you $1 except on the condition that Michael is not our squatter.

Clive

Pinkoojecrc82 · Answer

thanks alott ... clive

Unless problem

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