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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Just in Case You Don't Use 'If'
It is no surprise that many popular love songs use conditionals2. Conditional1 sentences show that something is true only when something else is true. So, they help us talk about wishes, hopes and even regrets.
In her song “All the Way,” classic3 American jazz singer Billie Holiday sings about love. She uses the word “unless” to show a condition.
When somebody loves you
It’s no good unless he loves you all the way
The word unless means “if not.” When Holiday says, “It’s no good unless they love you all the way,” she means a romance4 is not good if the person does not love you completely.
On a past Everyday Grammar program, we told you about conditionals that use the word if. For example, “If I practice enough, I can speak English.”
But, in today’s program, we will tell you about other words and phrases we use to make conditionals in spoken English.
First, let’s quickly go over how conditionals work:
Conditional sentences have two parts: the conditional clause5, which shows the condition, and the main clause, which shows the result. For example, “If I practice enough” is a conditional clause and “I can speak English” is the main clause.
Conditional clauses6 are not complete sentences. They need a main clause to be complete.
There are a few types of conditionals. Some show possible situations, like the sentence about speaking English. Some show improbable situations. And, others show situations that are impossible or very unrealistic. You can learn more about this in our past program.
Unless
Now, let’s continue with unless.
In our Billie Holiday example, “unless they love you all the way” is the conditional clause. It shows the condition. And “It’s no good” is the main clause. It shows the result of the condition.
Some English learners have a habit of putting the words “unless” and “if” together as “unless if” but these words should not be used together.
Otherwise and or
Two more words that express the same idea as unless are otherwise and or. Each word means if not. So, unless, or, otherwise and if not have the same basic meaning.
Keep in mind that or and otherwise also have other meanings. But in conditional statements, they mean “if not.”
In his song “Trouble Loves Me,” British singer Morrissey uses the word otherwise to talk about unreturned love.
Otherwise hold me
Just when it seems like…
The conditional clause is “otherwise hold me” and the main clause is “So, console me.”
Notice that his conditional and main clauses use the imperative8 form, so the subject “you” is not stated but is understood.
The word otherwise sometimes uses a different sentence structure in conditionals. Here’s an example:
The plane must be delayed. Otherwise, she would have called.
In this example, the clauses are separate sentences. More importantly, even though the clause “otherwise, she would have called” contains the conditional word, it does not state the condition. The condition is “the plane must be late.”
Having the condition appear in a separate sentence or clause is common with otherwise and or.
Listen to an example using or:
Finish your lunch or you can’t play outside.
Here, the condition is “finish your lunch” and the result is “You can’t play outside.” You’ll notice that the result clause – not the conditional clause – contains the conditional word or.
In case
Let’s move on to the phrase in case.
We use in case to talk about things we should do to prepare for other things that may happen.
For example:
I’ll bring an umbrella in case it rains.
In this sentence, I don’t know if it will rain or not. But it’s possible.
Now, listen to same sentence with if.
I’ll bring an umbrella if it rains.
Did you get the difference in meaning? In the if sentence, I’ll wait to see if it rains first. Then, I’ll bring an umbrella.
Another usage9 for in case is mainly for signs about what to do if danger occurs. The structure of the conditional clause is in case of + noun10. For example:
In case of emergency, break glass.
As long as
Our last conditional phrase for today is as long as. When we begin a conditional clause with as long as, the statement is a little stronger than using if. As long as essentially11 means “only if.”
In his song called “As Long as You Love Me,” American pop singer Justin Bieber says that his love can survive any difficulty.
As long as you love me
We could be starving
we could be homeless
we could be broke
As long as you love me
Because this is a song, it doesn’t follow standard sentence structure. Here, the conditional clause is “as long as you love me.” And, the other lines are main clauses.
One important note about conditionals is that you can often switch the placement of main and conditional clauses and get the same meaning.
For example: I’ll bring an umbrella in case it rains means the same as In case it rains, I’ll bring an umbrella.
And, if you learn conditionals, you’ll have a lot more freedom to express yourself in English.
I’m Alice Bryant.
Words in This Story
phrase – n. group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not form a complete sentence
clause – n. a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb
habit – n. a usual way of behaving
console – v. to try to make (someone) feel less sadness or
imperative – adj. having the form that expresses a command rather than a statement or a question
essential – adj. in a way that is very basic
starving – adj. suffering from lack of food
switch – v. to make a change from one thing to another
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conditional
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| adj.条件的，带有条件的 | |
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conditionals
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| n.条件句，从句，条件式( conditional的名词复数 ) | |
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classic
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| n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的 | |
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romance
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| n.恋爱关系，浪漫气氛，爱情小说，传奇 | |
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clause
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| n.（正式文件或法律文件的）条款，从句，分句 | |
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clauses
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| 从句( clause的名词复数 )； （法律文件等的）条款 | |
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console
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| n.控制台，仪表板，落地柜；vt.安慰，慰问 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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usage
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| n.惯用法，使用，用法 | |
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noun
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| n.名词 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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