Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Is unless conditional?
Hello,
Are 'unless' statements conditional, like if statements? If so, how does it work in past tense:
Unless he did this, he could never do that.
Unless he convinced X, he might suffer.
What I mean is: since unless in the first clause expresses a condition, must the second clause always express a possibility about the future and about the future only? If so, should it always be could/might (as in my examples) instead of could have/might have in order to express the future condition?
Am I right?
Regards,
Unless
Are 'unless' statements conditional, like if statements? If so, how does it work in past tense:
Unless he did this, he could never do that.
Unless he convinced X, he might suffer.
What I mean is: since unless in the first clause expresses a condition, must the second clause always express a possibility about the future and about the future only? If so, should it always be could/might (as in my examples) instead of could have/might have in order to express the future condition?
Am I right?
Regards,
Unless
Top answer
Unless he did this, he could never do that. Unless he convinced X, he might suffer. " I think you're right about the second part of your question as well.
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Unless he did this, he could never do that.
Unless he convinced X, he might suffer.
Just an opinion:
I'd say you're right, because you can substitute "If he didn't do/convince" for "Unless etc."
I think you're right about the second part o
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