Talk:unless

2008

I wonder where I could put that this word was prominently featured in the Dr. Seuss story The Lorax? -- Mjquin id 00:58, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

You could find a quotation illustrating the use of a meaning of the word from the story. I would recommend putting it on the citations page citations:unless unless you are good at wiktionary formatting. I'll be watching most of the time. DCDuring Holiday Greetings! 01:45, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

I've done my best ... to fulfill your request ... unless you object to the quote that I got ... and what you'd object to I know not. DCDuring Holiday Greetings! 01:56, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

Antonym

There is a question on Wikipedia as to the antonym of the English word unless. Any ideas?–Jérôme (talk) 15:09, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

If. Mocha2007 (talk) 20:11, 23 January 2017 (UTC)

Preposition: except

Nothing will come of it, unless disaster --Backinstadiums (talk) 12:23, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

My wife will be angry *unless I’m home by 7.00

Unless means 'except if', so it's not used when the meaning is more like "because ... not": My wife will be angry if I'm not home by 7.00 vs *My wife will be angry unless I get home by 7.00 (She will be angry because I’m not home.) --Backinstadiums (talk) 20:24, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

Unless https://oed.com/oed2/00268144, except https://oed.com/oed2/00079534--Backinstadiums (talk) 08:33, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

@Backinstadiums: Five seconds googling will show you that "will be angry unless" is a common phrase. Equinox ◑ 08:38, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

Unless is better described as the negative of a term like providing rather than if because the sense is only if ... not rather than plain if ... not.

The conjunction providing (and others: provided (that), as long as, so long as, on condition that) performs a similar but positive function because it means if and only if rather than plain if.

Unless usually comes with the assertive some, someone, something etc. rather than the any- parallels because the stress is on what's excluded. Unless clauses don't occur with wholly hypothetical meanings: If you weren't a doctor, what would you like to be?

but you can't have

>*Unless you were a doctor what would you like to be?

Clauses with unless are rarely used in unreal conditional sentences (for similar reasons of emphasising the exclusion):

If J hadn't helped, we wouldn't have been able to finish

If I were you, I'd ask more politely

but we do not allow:

>*Unless J had helped, we wouldn't have been able to finish

>*Unless I weren't you, I'd ask more politely

Both if and unless are common when introducing pro-clauses (if so, if not, unless so, unless not) and in abbreviated clauses in which part of the clause is ellipted and can be inferred from context.

https://www.eltconcourse.com/training/inservice/phrases_clauses_sentences/condition_concession.html

JMGN (talk) 16:46, 12 August 2023 (UTC)