Uso de "unless"
"Unless" significa lo mismo que if + not. Al igual que "if", "unless" va seguido de un verbo en presente, pasado o "past perfect" (nunca de un condicional). "Unless" se utiliza en lugar de if + not en oraciones condicionales de todos los tipos. Cuando empleamos "unless", el orden de las proposiciones no importa.
Condicional tipo 1: "unless" + presente
Con "if" | Equivalente con "unless" |
---|---|
You will be sick if you don't stop eating. | You'll be sick unless you stop eating. |
I won't pay if you don't provide the goods immediately. | I won't pay unless you provide the goods immediately. |
If you don't study dilligently, you'll never understand trigonometry. | Unless you study dilligently, you'll never understand trigonometry. |
Condicional tipo 2: "unless" + pasado
Con "if" | Equivalente con "unless" |
---|---|
If he wasn't very ill, he would be at work. | Unless he was very ill, he would be at work. |
I wouldn't eat that food if I wasn't really hungry. | I wouldn't eat that food unless I was really hungry. |
She would be here by now if she wasn't stuck in traffic. | She would be here by now unless she was stuck in traffic. |
Condicional tipo 3: "unless" + "past perfect"
Con "if" | Equivalente con "unless" |
---|---|
Our director would not have signed the contract if she hadn't had a lawyer present. | Our director would not have signed the contract unless she had had a lawyer present. |
I wouldn't have phoned him if you hadn't suggested it. | I wouldn't have phoned him unless you'd suggested it. |
They would have shot her if she hadn't given them the money. | They would have shot her unless she'd given them the money. |