Does anyone here find a problem with the use of “unless” below?
[i]She wouldn’t have come unless I had asked her to, and I didn’t.
You wouldn’t have passed the exam unless I had helped you.[/i]
I know we can use “except if” in the first example and “if I hadn’t” in the second example, but what about “unless I had”?
NB I get mixed reactions from native speakers on this.
I can understand them but I don’t feel very comfortable with ‘unless’ in the subjunctive mood.
Could you tell us why?
Just my personal opinion but I feel ‘unless’ carries a sence of negation and subjunctive mood carries it too. Double negation or multiple negation only makes things difficult even if theoretically it’s possible for a sentence. At least it’s better to avoid such an expression.
Hi Molly,
To me ‘unless’ has an air of gravitas about it since it often indicates a particular and very special condition. This is probably because it was used in that way in the past. It pops up in the 17th century English translation of the Bible and is used there in the subjunctive. I can’t quote ad lib from the Bible but this could be the sort of thing: Unless a sinner repent, he will face damnation. In conclusion I would say it’s perfectly acceptable to use it in its ‘if …not’ mode if there is a seriousness in its negative condition.
Alan
Thanks Alan and Haihao. Two very interesting views on this.
Looking at “unless” in registers in the BNC:
SPOKEN 127.0
FICTION 90.7
NEWSPAPER 83.0
ACADEMIC 156.6
MISC 109.0
Does this mean that lots of people British people are speaking with gravitas? :?
The word seems much more balanced across registers in American English:
SECTION SPOKEN 74.8
FICTION 66.5
MAGAZINE 75.5
NEWSPAPER 69.3
ACADEMIC 60.9
How about here? Examples from Americans.
“Because I wouldn’t feel that I was speaking to the intelligence community unless I had good reason to do so.”
" I got support from nowhere except the gay community. The gay community taught me how to survive HIV disease, and I don’t think I’d be here today unless I hadn’t reached out to them and built a bridge."
Remember the great high school cross-country star?, he wrote, I did it only to prove myself to Dad, running until dizzy, stopping only to vomit by the side of the road. It got to the point that I knew I hadn’t run well unless I had thrown up.