Unless

Conditional clauses can begin with unless. Unless means something similar to ‘if …
not’ or ‘except if’.

The verb forms in the examples are similar to sentences with if: we use the present
simple in the unless-clause and shall, should, will, would, can, could, may or might in
the main clause:

Unless I phone you, you can assume the train’s on time. (If I do not phone you /except
if I phone you, you can assume the train is on time.)

We’ll have to cancel the show unless we sell more tickets at the last minute. (We’ll have
to cancel the show if we do not sell more tickets/except if we sell more tickets at the last
minute.)

Warning:

We don’t use unless for impossible conditions:

If the government had not raised food prices, there would not have been so many
protests.

Not: Unless the government had raised food prices …

In speaking, we use unless to introduce an extra thought or piece of information:

He didn’t even know about the crash – unless he’d heard about it on the radio.

A:

Oh look. Neil next door’s got a new car.

B:

Unless they’ve got a visitor.

We don’t use unless and if together:

We’ll go to the coast tomorrow unless it rains.

Not: We’ll go to the coast tomorrow unless if it rains.

We use the conjunction unless to mean ‘except if’. The clause which follows unless is a
subordinate clause (sc): it needs a main clause (mc) to make a complete sentence.

When unless comes before the main clause, we use a comma:

Unless [SC]it rains, [MC]we’ll go for a picnic by the river tomorrow. (We’ll go for a
picnic by the river tomorrow if it doesn’t rain.)

When the main clause comes first, we don’t need a comma:

[MC]They won’t come unless [SC]you invite them.

Unless is a conditional word (like if), so we don’t use will or would in the subordinate
clause:

Unless I hear from you, I’ll see you at two o’clock.

Not: Unless I’ll hear from you …

Typical errors

 We don’t use unless when we mean if:

Pete will drive if Alex can’t.

Not: Pete will drive unless Alex can’t.

 We don’t use will or would in the clause after unless:

Unless you pay now, we can’t guarantee you a ticket.

Not: Unless you’ll pay now …

Unless and if … not

Unless and if … not both mean ‘except if’:

We could eat at Siam Smile unless they’re closed on a Monday. (or We could eat at
Siam Smile if they’re not closed on a Monday.)

I’ll make dinner unless somebody else wants to. (or I’ll make dinner if nobody else
wants to.)

Can you turn the radio off unless you’re listening to it? (or Can you turn the radio off if
you’re not listening to it?)

We don’t use unless for things that we know to be true:

You won’t be able to get a ticket for the match unless you’re prepared to pay a lot of
money for it. (The speaker doesn’t know if you’re prepared to pay a lot of money for a
ticket.)

I don’t know what we would have done if we hadn’t seen you. (We did see you.)
Not: I don’t know what we would have done unless we’d seen you.

Should you (Should with inversion)

In formal situations, we can use should + subject (s) + verb (v) instead of if:

Should you wish to cancel your order, please contact our customer service department
on 02317 6658932. (or If you should wish to cancel your order …)

Should your child become anxious or nervous about any activity, it is a good idea to
inform the team-leader. (or If your child should become …)

Had you (Had with inversion)

In formal situations, we can use had + subject + verb instead of if in third conditional
sentences:

Had I known you were waiting outside, I would have invited you to come in. (If I had
known you were waiting outside …)

Had Margaret realised she would be travelling alone, she would never have agreed to
go.

If + were to
In formal situations, we can use if + were to when we talk about things that might
happen but which we think are unlikely:

If the Prime Minister were to resign, there would have to be a general election within
30 days.

In even more formal styles, we use were + subject-verb inversion + to-infinitive:

[V]Were [S]we [to -INF]to give up the fight now, it would mean the end of democracy
in our country. (If we gave up the fight now …)

[V]Were [S]the economy [to -INF]to slow down too quickly, there would be major
problems. (If the economy slowed down too quickly …)

As long as, so long as, providing, etc.

Sometimes we need to impose specific conditions or set limits on a situation. In these
cases, conditional clauses can begin with phrases such as as long as, so long as, only if,
on condition that, providing (that), provided (that).

As long as is more common in speaking; so long as and on condition that are more
formal and more common in writing:
[to a group of children]

You can play in the living room as long as you don’t make a mess.

So long as a tiger stands still, it is invisible in the jungle.

The bank lent the company 100,000 pounds on condition that they repaid the money
within six months.

Providing (that) is more common in speaking; provided (that) is more formal and more
common in written language:

[talking about rail travel in the UK]

You can get a senior citizen’s reduction providing you’ve got a railcard.

They may do whatever they like provided that it is within the law.

On (the) condition that

only if:
'll come to the party on the condition that you don't wear those ridiculous trousers!
They offered me a job on the condition that I did some further training.
The World Bank reduced the country's loan payments on condition that they spent the
savings on healthcare and education.
We were invited to the meeting on the condition that we agreed to keep the proceedings
confidential.
He agreed to speak to the newspaper on condition that they didn't use his name.

Or and otherwise
We often use or and otherwise with conditional meanings:

You’ve got to start studying, or you’ll fail all those exams. (If you don’t start studying,
you will fail the exams.)

[talking about sending a package by mail]

We’d better send it express, otherwise it’ll take days. (If we do not send it express, it
will take days.)

Supposing
Supposing may be used with a conditional meaning. It can be used in first, second or
third conditional sentences. The speaker invites the listener to imagine a situation:
Supposing I don’t arrive till after midnight, will the guest-house still be open? (Imagine
if I don’t arrive till after midnight …)

Supposing you lost your passport, you’d have to go to the embassy, wouldn’t you?

Supposing he hadn’t recognised us – he might never have spoken to us.

Conditionals: imagined situations

Conditional sentences consider imagined or uncertain situations and the possible results
of these situations. The most common types of conditional sentences involve if:

[imagined situation]If I get the job in Milan, [result]I’ll be pretty happy.

[outcome]We’ll have the party in the garden [imagined situation]as long as it doesn’t
rain. (or … if it doesn’t rain. or … on condition that it doesn’t rain.)

Conditional sentences
Conditional sentences consist of a conditional clause and a main clause:

[conditional clause]If a lot of people come, [main clause]we’ll have to get extra chairs.

[conditional clause]Unless you book weeks in advance, [main clause]you won’t get a
flight.

The verb in the conditional clause reflects the speaker’s point of view on whether the
imagined situation is likely or impossible:

If you win the next match, will you be in the semi-final? (present simple + will indicates
the speaker thinks winning the match is possible or likely)

If I won a million pounds, I would give this job up tomorrow! (past simple + would
indicates the speaker thinks winning a million pounds is not likely to happen)

If we had won the competition, we would have had a free trip to Moscow. (past perfect +
would have refers to an impossible condition – the event did not happen)

Order of clauses
Conditional clauses usually come before main clauses but they may also come after
them:

If you see Dora, will you give her a message? (conditional clause first; a comma is
normally used in writing)

I’ll go to Bristol tomorrow if the weather is good. (conditional clause second; a comma
is not normally used in writing)
Verb forms in the conditional clause
The verb in the conditional clause may be in the simple form or the continuous form,
depending on the meaning:

If you owe money, you must pay it back immediately. (simple)

If you’re feeling hungry, we can go and get something to eat. (continuous)

If he had time, he always called in to see us. (simple)

If they were working, we always tried not to disturb them. (continuous)

Imagined conditions
There are different types of conditions. Some are possible or likely, others are unlikely,
and others are impossible:

If the weather improves, we’ll go for a walk. (It is possible or likely that the weather
will improve.)

If the weather improved, we could go for a walk. (It is not likely that the weather will
improve.)

If the weather had improved, we could have gone for a walk. (The weather did not
improve – fine weather is therefore an impossible condition.)

These types of conditions are used in three types of sentences, called first, second and
third conditional sentences.

Imagined conditions: the first conditional

We use the first conditional to talk about the result of an imagined future situation,
when we believe the imagined situation is quite likely:

[imagined future situation] If the taxi doesn’t come soon, [future result]I’ll drive you
myself.

First conditional: form

conditional clause main clause
modal verb with future meaning
if + present simple
(shall/should/will/would/can/could/may/might)
If he gets a job in
he’ll have to get up early. It’s a long drive.
Liverpool,
If Sheila rings, I might ask her to come over for dinner.
Warning:

We use the modal verb in the main clause, not in the conditional clause.
If a lawyer reads the document, we will see if we’ve missed anything important.

Not: If a lawyer will read the document…

Imagined conditions: the second conditional

We use the second conditional to talk about the possible result of an imagined situation
in the present or future. We say what the conditions must be for the present or future
situation to be different.

If people complained, things would change. (People don’t complain at themoment.)

Second conditional: form

conditional clause main clause
modal verb with future-in-the-past meaning
if + past simple
(should/would/might/could)
If you asked her
she would say yes, I’m sure.
nicely,

We use a past form in the conditional clause to indicate a distance from reality, rather
than indicating past time. We often use past forms in this way in English.

Warning:

We use would in the main clause, not in the conditional clause:

If you decided to take the exam, you would have to register by 31 March.

Not: If you would decide to take the exam …

First and second conditional compared

When we use the first conditional, we think the imagined situation is more likely to
happen than when we use the second conditional.

Compare

first conditional second conditional

If the flight’s late, we’ll miss our If there were more buses, we would leave
connection. the car at home.

(it’s possible or likely that the flight will be (it is unlikely that there will be more
late) buses)
I’ll come and give a hand if you need help
He would buy a flat if he had the money
moving your stuff.
for a deposit.
(it is possible or likely that you will need
(it is unlikely that he will have the money)
help)
Imagined conditions: the third conditional
We use the third conditional when we imagine a different past, where something did or
did not happen, and we imagine a different result:

If I had played better, I would have won. (I didn’t play well and I didn’t win.)

It would have been easier if George had brought his own car. (George didn’t bring his
own car, so the situation was difficult.)

If the dog hadn’t barked, we wouldn’t have known there was someone in the garden.
(The dog barked, so we knew there was someone in the garden.)

Third conditional: form

conditional clause main clause
modal verb with future-in-the-past meaning
if + past perfect
(should/would/might/could) + have + -ed form
If they had left
they would have arrived on time.
earlier,
Warning:

We use would have + -ed in the main clause, not in the conditional clause:

If he had stayed in the same room as Dave, it would have been a disaster.

Not: If he would have stayed … it would have been a disaster.

People do sometimes use the form with would have in informal speaking, but many
speakers consider it incorrect.

Real/Zero conditionals
Some conditions seem more real to us than others. Real conditionals refer to things that
are true, that have happened, or are very likely to happen:

If you park here, they clamp your wheels. (It is always true that they clamp your wheels
if, or every time, you park here.)

If I can’t sleep, I listen to the radio. (it is often true that I can’t sleep, so I listen to the
radio)

In real conditional sentences, we can use the present simple or present continuous in
both clauses for present situations, and the past simple or past continuous in both
clauses for past situations. We can use these in various different combinations.

Present simple + present simple

If the weather is fine, we eat outside on the terrace. (Every time this happens, this is
what we do.)
Present continuous + present simple

If the kids are enjoying themselves, we just let them go on playing till they’re ready for
bed. (Every time this happens, this is what we do.)

Present continuous + present continuous

If the economy is growing by 6%, then it is growing too fast. (If it is true that the
economy is growing by 6%, then it is true that it is growing too fast.)

Past simple + past simple

If my father had a day off, we always went to see my granddad. (Every time that
happened in the past, that is what we did.)

Past simple + past continuous

Kevin always came in to say hello if he was going past our house. (Every time he was
going past our house, that is what he did.)

We can also use modal verbs in the main clause:

If we go out, we can usually get a baby sitter. (Every time we go out, it is usually
possible to get a babysitter.)

If we wanted someone to fix something, we would ask our neighbour. He was always
ready to help. (Every time we wanted someone, we would ask our neighbour.)

Types of conditional: summary

The table shows how the main types of conditionals relate to one another.

true likely/possible less likely/less possible impossible

Real/Zero First Second Third
If we had more
If it snows, we If the rent had been
If she gets the job, students, we would run
get our skis out. lower, I would have
we’ll celebrate. the course.
taken the flat.
(We do this
(It is possible or likely (It is less likely or
every time it (The rent was not low
she will get the job.) unlikely that we will
snows.) enough.)
get more students.)

If + should
We can use if with should to refer to events which might happen by chance or by
accident:

If you should bump into Carol, can you tell her I’m looking for her? (If by chance you
bump into Carol.)
If the government should ever find itself in this situation again, it is to be hoped it would
act more quickly.

Conditional clauses with will or would

Will and would can be used in conditional clauses, either with the meaning of ‘being
willing to do something’, or to refer to later results:

If Clare will meet us at the airport, it will save us a lot of time. (if Clare is willing to
meet us)

If you would all stop shouting, I will try and explain the situation!

If it will make you happy, I’ll stay at home tonight. (If it is true that you will be happy as
a result, I’ll stay at home tonight.)

We sometimes stress the will or would, especially if we doubt that the result will be the
one mentioned:

If it really would save the planet, I’d stop using my car tomorrow. (If it really is true
that the planet would be saved as a result, I would stop using my car, but I doubt it is
true.)

See also:

Mixed conditionals
Often, things that did or did not happen in the past have results which continue or are
still important in the present. We can emphasise this by using if with a past perfect verb,
and would in the main clause.

If I hadn’t met Charles, I wouldn’t be here now. (I met Charles so I’m here now.)

She wouldn’t still be working for us if we hadn’t given her a pay-rise. (We gave her a
pay-rise so she is still working for us now.)

Conditionals in speaking
Spoken English:

In speaking, we often use if-clauses without main clauses, especially when asking
people politely to do things. If is usually followed by will, would, can or could when it
is used to be polite:

[Shop assistant to customer]

If you would just sign here, please. (a more polite way of saying Just sign here, please.)
[A is writing something for B and having difficulty]

A:

If I could have a better pen …

B:

Here, use this one.

A:

Thanks.