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317
If anything troubles you, you’d better tell me.
If anyone asks for me, tell him to wait.
Clauses beginning with unless express the only possible condition which will make the action in the main
clause possible. Therefore they usually contain assertive forms like something, somebody.
Unless somebody interferes, there may be a disaster.
For the same reason unless-clauses hardly ever express unreal conditions.
The exclusive meaning of unless accounts for the fact that, even if the condition is real, the unless-clause is
not always equivalent to an if-not-clause. Thus the sentence: I
won’t come unless you invite me (я приду,
только если вы пригласите меня) and the sentence I won’t come if you don’t invite me (= я не приду, если
вы меня не приглашаете) are quite different in their meaning.
The conjunction provided opens a clause containing some desirable condition for the fullfilment of the
action expressed by the predicate in the main clause.
And you can do what you please, provided you do it neatly and don’t make a row over it.
The conjunctions suppose and supposing always imply that the condition is merely hypothetical.
I mean this: Suppose some other European pauper prince was anxious to marry Princess Anna and her
fortune, wouldn’t that Prince have an interest in stopping this loan of yours to Prince Eugen?
Conditional clauses may be joined to the main clause asyndetically by means of link-inversion. Inversion is
possible only if the predicate in the subordinate clause is in the subjunctive mood, that is expressed by past
subjunctive (were), or by non-factual Past Perfect.
But had chance taken you out into the surrounding country and had it taken you in the right direction,
you would have found him toiling along by the hedges...
§ 170. Depending on the relation between the subordinate and the main clauses and on the use of tense and
mood forms, complex sentences with conditional clauses may be subdivided into three types:
I. Complex sentences with clauses of real condition are those when the actions or events in both the
clauses refer to the past or present and these actions or events are regarded as real facts. If the actions or events
in these clauses refer to the future, the actions or events are regarded as possible real facts.
If I have offended you, I am very sorry.
Why did he send us matches if he knew there was no gas?
If Jules comes back, simply defy him to enter - that is all.
I won’t phone you, unless something unforeseen happens.
The conditional clause may be a statement for mere argument, no condition is meant.
If she got no money from her brother-in-law, she got what was as good as money - credit.
If Adrian had a passion, indeed, except for Diana Ferse, it was a burning desire to fix that breeding spot,
As can be seen from the above examples, the predicates in conditional clauses may be in the past or present
indefinite, present perfect, present or past continuous.
Note:
In cases like the following Let her come to me as she will, when she will, not at all if she will not; But I must
run out for half a minute, if you’ll let me the verb will is not auxiliary but modal, as it expresses wish,
insistence, or resistance (in negative form).