Fingers’ Grammar Clinic

AUDIO DR FINGERS’GRAMMAR CLINIC

Dear Dr Fingers, I often have problems with conjunctions such as “unless” and “as long as”. Please could you help me? Thank you very much. Monica (by e-mail).

Dear Monica, Thank you very much. Of course, I would be delighted to help you with your difficulties. First of all, let’s have a look at “unless”.

Unless

We use this conjunction to talk about exceptions; and in many cases it is like saying “except if”, or “the only exception is if…”. For example: ”I won’t go to the cinema unless you pay”, which is like saying, “I won’t go to the cinema. The only exception is if you pay”. “She won’t work unless I help her”, which is like saying, “she won’t work. The only exception is if I help her”. ”He won’t do it unless you explain how to do it”, which is like saying, “he won’t do it. The only exception is if you explain how to do it”. ”I will be here tomorrow unless there’s a strike”, which means, “I will be here tomorrow. The only exception is if there’s a strike”.

As long as

Now let’s look at “as long as”. This can be used to make a condition, and it is similar to “if” or “on condition that”. For example: “I’ll lend you my car, as long as you don’t crash it”, which means, “I’ll lend you my car, on condition that you don’t crash it”. “I’ll come as long as you pay”, which means, “I’ll come on condition that you pay”. “I’ll do the job as long as you help me”, which means, “I’ll do the job on condition that you help me”.

Today ’s class: “Unless” and “as long as”

Additional Notes For Advanced Students

And finally, a few points for advanced students. Notice how we use a present tense to express a future idea with both “unless” and “as long as”: “I won’t be angry as long as you do it well”. It is NOT correct to say, “… you will do it well”. “I won’t go unless you go with me.” It is NOT correct to say, “… unless you will go… ” In more formal sentences you can use “provided that” instead of “as long as”: “I’ll lend you my car, provided that you don’t crash it.” Be careful because “as long as” can also be used to make comparisons: “This piece of string is as long as the other one.” “Mine is as long as yours.”

Well, I hope that has answered your question. Now, I am going for a lovely walk to the park, where I will throw some stones at the ducks and frighten old ladies. Yours, Dr Fingers. Bye!