HOW TO USE "UNLESS"

Unless means the same as if...not. Like if, unless is followed by a present tense, a past tense, or a past perfect tense
(never by a conditional). Unless is used instead of if...not in conditional sentences of all types. The order of the
clauses doesn't matter with sentences using unless.

TYPE 1 CONDITIONAL: UNLESS + PRESENT TENSE

With If Equivalent with 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 I won't pay unless you provide the goods
immediately. immediately.

If you don't study dilligently, you'll never understand Unless you study dilligently, you'll never understand
trigonometry. trigonometry.

TYPE 2 CONDITIONAL: UNLESS + PAST TENSE

With If Equivalent with 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 She would be here by now unless she was stuck in
traffic. traffic.

TYPE 3 CONDITIONAL: UNLESS + PAST PERFECT

With If Equivalent with Unless

Our director would not have signed the contract if Our director would not have signed the contract
she hadn't had a lawyer present. unless she had had a lawyer present.

I wouldn't have phoned him if you hadn't suggested I wouldn't have phoned him unless you'd suggested it.
it.
With If Equivalent with Unless

They would have shot her if she hadn't given them They would have shot her unless she'd given them the
the money. money.

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 Unless you study dilligently, you'll never understand
trigonometry. 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 Our director would not have signed the contract unless she
hadn't had a lawyer present. had had a lawyer present.
 Con "if" Equivalente con "unless"

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 They would have shot her unless she'd given them the
money. money.

If/unless + first conditional

El uso del condicional significa que una acción depende de otra. Los condicionales se utilizan para hablar
sobre situaciones reales o irreales. En general, las frases condicionales llevan la palabra "if" (si).
Ten en cuenta que no existe un tiempo verbal para el condicional en inglés como existe en español. A la vez,
se usa el verbo auxiliar "would" para formar el condicional en inglés.
Hay cuatro tipos de frases condicionales y el uso de uno sobre otro refleja la probabilidad de la acción.

Conditional Types (Tipos de los condicionales)

Zero Conditional (Tipo 0)

Se usa este tipo del condicional cuando la condición y el resultado siempre es verdad, como por ejemplo los
hechos científicos.

IF Condition Result

If Present simple Present simple

 Ejemplos:
 If you heat water to 100° C, it boils. / Water boils if you heat it to 100° C. (Si calientas agua a 100 ° C hierve.)
 If I don't practice the piano everyday I play poorly. / I play the piano poorly if I don't
practice everyday. (Si no practico el piano cada día toco mal.)
 Does your mom get mad if you don't call her? / If you don't call your mom, does she getmad? (¿Si no la
llamas a tu madre, se enoja?)
Nota: Podemos cambiar el orden de las frases sin cambiar el significado. También, en general con este tipo
de condicional, podemos sustituir "if" por "when" sin alterar el significado.

First Conditional (Tipo 1)

Este tipo del condicional se utiliza para el futuro y en los casos en que es muy probable que la condición
pasará.

IF Condition Result

If Present simple Future simple ("will")

 Ejemplos:
 If Bill studies, he will pass the exam. / Bill will pass the exam if he studies. (Si Bill estudia, aprobará el
examen.)
 If it doesn't rain, we will go to the beach. / We will go to the beach if it doesn't rain. (Si no llueve, iremos a
la playa.)
 Will you take the train if you miss the bus? / If you miss the bus, will you take the train?(¿Cogerás el tren si
pierdes el bus?)
Nota: Se pueden usar algunos verbos modales en vez de "will" para cambiar la probabilidad o expresar una
opinión. Para más información, ver la lección sobre los verbos modales.
 Ejemplos:
 If it doesn't rain, we may go to the beach. [*Con el uso de "may", el significado de esta frase cambia. Ahora, el hablante
reconoce que puede ir a la playa pero no esta tan seguro de si irá.]
 If it doesn't rain we should go to the beach. [*En este caso, el uso de "should" expresa la opinión del hablante.]
 If it doesn't rain we can go to the beach.["Can" significa que es posible ir a la playa, pero no indica la probabilidad.]

Second Conditional (Tipo 2)

Se utiliza el tipo 2 para expresar una posibilidad irreal en el presente, como un deseo o un sueño, o para una
acción en el futuro no tan probable.

IF Condition Result

If Past simple "Would" + infinitivo

 Ejemplos:
 If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world. / I would travel around the world if Iwon the
lottery. (Si ganara la lotería, viajaría alrededor del mundo.)
 If Rachel had more time, she would learn to play the guitar. / Rachel would learn to play the
guitar if she had more time. (Si Rachel tuviera más tiempo, aprendería a tocar la guitarra.)
 Would you be happy if you were to get married? / If you were to get
married, would you behappy? (¿Estarías feliz si te casaras?)
Nota: Como en el tipo 1, se pueden usar otros verbos modales en vez de "would" para cambiar el
significado y la posibilidad.

Third Conditional (Tipo 3)

A diferencia a los tipos 1 y 2, se utiliza el tercer tipo del condicional cuando hablamos de una condición en el
pasado que no ha sucedido.

IF Condition Result

"Would have" + past

If Past perfect
participle

 Ejemplos:
 If I had known then what I know now, I would have done things differently. / I would have done things
differently if I had known then what I know now. (Si hubiera sabido en el pasado lo que sé ahora, hubiera hecho las
cosas de manera diferente.)
 Suzanne wouldn't have had the heart attack if she had gone on a diet as her doctor recommended.
/ If Suzanne had gone on a diet as her doctor recommended she wouldn't have had the heart
attack. (Suzanne no hubiera tenido el infarto si hubiera hecho dieta como su médico le recomendó.)
 Would you have liked to go to university if you had been able to afford it? / If you had been able to
afford it, would you have liked to go to university? (¿Te hubiera gustado ir a la universidad si te lo hubieras permitido
pagar?)
Unless
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 …

See also:
 If
 Conditionals

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 ifyou’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.

Warning:
 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.

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.

"if "quiere decir "si',

"unless" quiere decir "al menos"
I will go with you if you want me to, unless you have changed your mind.
Ire contigo si quieres que vaya, al menos que hayas cambiado de idea.

IF es lo contrario the UNLESS

IF = con la condicion que

UNLESS =excepto con la condicion que

por ejemplo:
IF you are good you will go to heaven = si eres bueno iras al cielo
UNLESS you are good you will NOT go to heaven = a menos que seas bueno NO iras al cielo

Unless" indica que algo pasara a no ser que se haga algo. Se traduciria por "A no ser que..." o "Si
no..."

Ejemplos:

"Unless you study hard, you won't pass"

"Si no estudias mucho, no aprobaras"

"I told him that unless he came along, I wouldn't be going"

"Le dije que a no ser que se viniera, no iria yo"

If es simplemente para introducir condiciones normales:

"If it rains, we'll wait heer"

"Si llueve, esperaremos aqui"
"If he was rich he wouldn't be treated so unfairly"
"Si fuera rico no lo tratarian de manera tan injusta"

"If you don't do it, someone else will do it"

"Si no lo haces, otra persona lo hara"

Nota que es equivalente a:

"Unless you do it, someone else will do it"

Pero el enfasis es diferente, en la segunda tiene un matiz de mayor urgencia, por asi decirlo

1. If you don’t have an umbrella, I’ll lend you mine.

2. If you don’t take an umbrella, you’ll get wet.

3. He’ll fail his exam if he doesn’t study.

4. I’ll be very disappointed if he doesn’t study.

5. Will it be all right if I don’t wear a tie?

6. They won’t let you in if you don’t wear a tie.

7. If it doesn’t rain in August the tourists will be happy.

8. If it doesn’t rain this August, there will be water shortages.

9. In the old days people never travelled if they didn’t really have to.

10. You’d sleep better if you didn’t drink coffee before bed.