Unless meaning in English
Learn how to use Unless correctly with Gymglish.
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Definition
unless: except if
Unless Bruno agrees, you'll never get that grant. You know you won't get the grant except if Bruno agrees, don't you?
Pronunciation examples
UK: I'll be there at nine, unless the train is late.
US: Don't come unless I call you.
Examples
- "And unless you have my approval, Delavigne will never get that permit to build a new retail store."
- "Greg : No... unless you like it... then yes."
- "Jean : Oh, I don't think you would know her, unless you watch late night cable TV."
- "Ray Upton : Unless you own a helicopter or a small plane, Moira, you should probably just stay home."
- "Philip : I doubt it, Edward, unless you know how to transport 30,000 units of perfume from Southampton, England, to Brazil in less than three weeks?"
- "Unless you're crooked."
- ""Chick" (unless referring literally to a baby bird)"
- "Stephen : Don't talk unless you have to, son."
- "Unless this contract is signed (in duplicate) by tomorrow, we will be forced to withdraw our 2.5 million dollar offer for the branding rights."
- "Mr. Wang : Yes gentlemen, unless we come to an arrangement right away, I will own enough stock in your companies to have a controlling interest by the market's close tomorrow night!"
- "Greg : Greg... unless you don't like it... then it's Jack."
- "Unless you call a sleeping bag "furniture"."
- "Unless there are any other comments, I'd like to wrap this meeting up."
- "Because I've got nothing better to do, unless you count running a million-dollar multinational corporation, let me answer your original questions."
- "We all know that we shouldn't leave our computers on standby and that we shouldn't print out emails and documents unless absolutely necessary."
- "I don't think this is going to work out, so unless you can convince me that we're compatible in the next 15 seconds, I think we should just stop right now."
- "So unless you can persuade me otherwise, we may have to seriously reconsider Philip's suggestions."
Exercise 1
Choose all the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
There may be more than one correct answer!
Choose all the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
There may be more than one correct answer!
Ray tells Moira and Brent that "unless you own a helicopter or small plane you should probably stay home". He means that traffic is so bad today that the only way to get around is by plane or helicopter. Ray isn't saying that helicopters and planes are having a hard time because of the traffic.
A "traffic jam" describes blocked or congested "traffic": cars and trucks trying to move from one location to another. Traffic jams often occur on the highway due to accidents or bad weather. When Ray says that the traffic is "backed up all the way to the Bay Bridge" he means that the vehicles are moving so slowly that there is a line of vehicles starting at the Bay Bridge, or that there is a traffic jam at the Bay Bridge.
Ray tells Moira that the traffic is so bad "you should probably just stay home." He is advising people to stay at home rather than to travel on the freeways because of the poor traffic circulation.
Ray says that "Northbound traffic on Highway one is not much better" (than the traffic on the Bay Bridge). Ray doesn't advise people to travel on Highway 1 because the traffic is as bad there as it is everywhere else.
Exercise 2
Polly writes that "the job is yours, pending a preliminary interview".
This means that Luna , successful interview.
This means that Luna , successful interview.
Polly writes that "the job is yours, pending a preliminary interview".
This means that Luna will be hired 1, if she has a 2 successful interview.
This means that Luna will be hired 1, if she has a 2 successful interview.
1 will be hired: This is correct. The idiom "the position is yours" expresses that a job has been "offered" or "given".
1 has already been hired: This is not what this idiom expresses. Polly is expressing to Luna that she will be hired, in the future, on the condition that she has a successful interview.
1 owns the job: This is a very literal interpretation of the idiom "the position is yours". In English, we rarely attribute literal "ownership" to a job, although we often use pronouns such as "my, yours, and her" to describe jobs. For example, someone might ask "What's your job here?" but this does not mean "Which job do you own?" but "Which job do you do?".
2 if she has a: This is correct. The term "pending" means "on the condition that" or simply "depending on". Polly has offered the position of Director of Personnel to Luna on the condition that her interview goes well.
2 because of her : This is incorrect. Luna has not yet interviewed for the position at Delavigne. Polly is offering to hire Luna only after she completes a successful interview.
2 unless she has a : This is incorrect. Do not confuse the term "pending" with "unless". Although they are both terms which express conditions, they are very different.
Exercise 3
"Since I was really looking forward to watching the film..."
Choose the correct conjunction for each sentence from the list below.
unless | so that | once | since | while | whereas | although | until
Each conjunction is used only once. Not all conjunctions are used!
Susie and Brian often work together on press conferences they have good presentation skills.
Icarus needs new batteries for his calculator he can finish his financial report.
The meeting won't begin Horatio has finished his whiskey.
Philip has a bad cold, he will still go to the sales convention.
Every morning, Jean reads a French newspaper he eats his breakfast.
Choose the correct conjunction for each sentence from the list below.
unless | so that | once | since | while | whereas | although | until
Each conjunction is used only once. Not all conjunctions are used!
Susie and Brian often work together on press conferences they have good presentation skills.
Icarus needs new batteries for his calculator he can finish his financial report.
The meeting won't begin Horatio has finished his whiskey.
Philip has a bad cold, he will still go to the sales convention.
Every morning, Jean reads a French newspaper he eats his breakfast.
"Since I was really looking forward to watching the film..."
Choose the correct conjunction for each sentence from the list below.
unless | so that | once | since | while | whereas | although | until
Each conjunction is used only once. Not all conjunctions are used!
Susie and Brian often work together on press conferences since 1 they have good presentation skills.
Icarus needs new batteries for his calculator so that 2 he can finish his financial report.
The meeting won't begin until 3 Horatio has finished his whiskey.
Although 4 Philip has a bad cold, he will still go to the sales convention.
Every morning, Jean reads a French newspaper while 5 he eats his breakfast.
Choose the correct conjunction for each sentence from the list below.
unless | so that | once | since | while | whereas | although | until
Each conjunction is used only once. Not all conjunctions are used!
Susie and Brian often work together on press conferences since 1 they have good presentation skills.
Icarus needs new batteries for his calculator so that 2 he can finish his financial report.
The meeting won't begin until 3 Horatio has finished his whiskey.
Although 4 Philip has a bad cold, he will still go to the sales convention.
Every morning, Jean reads a French newspaper while 5 he eats his breakfast.
1 since: "Since" is similar to "because" or "as" in this sentence to express reason. Susie and Brian often work together on press conferences because they have good presentation skills. In the letter, Luna does not want to leave the store without a DVD because she was looking forward to watching a film that evening.
2 so that: "So that" shares the same meaning as "in order that" or "with the purpose that". Icarus needs new batteries for his calculator to finish his report, or in other words, he cannot finish his report without them. "So that" can also mean "with the result that", for example: Bob got up very late, so that he missed his bus and was late for work.
3 until: As a subordinate conjunction, "until" shares a similar meaning with "before" in negative constructions. The meeting will start after Horatio has finished his whiskey. "Until" can also mean "up to the time of", for example: Bruno walked in the rain until he was so tired he had to sit down.
4 Although: "Although" shares the same meaning as "even though", "regardless of (the fact that)" or "in spite of (the fact that)", and is usually found at the beginning of clauses. The term introduces the contrast between Phillip having a bad cold, and his decision to attend the sales conference.
5 while: "While" is used to introduce two clauses that happen simultaneously, or a continuous action that is interrupted by another. Every morning, Jean reads the newspaper at the same time as he is eating his breakfast. "While" can also be used in a similar way to "even though" and "although", for example: While Bruno appreciated the gesture, he could not accept the prize.
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