5GRAMMAR 语法:unless, if ... not, in case, or (else)
Use unless to say that something will happen or be true if something else does not happen or is not true. Do not use ‘will’ or ‘shall’ after unless. Use the present tense or present perfect. 表示某事将会在另一事不发生或不属实的情况下发生或属实,用 unless。unless 后不用 will 或 shall,而要用现在时或现在完成时
Businesses will not survive unless they satisfy (NOT 不说 will satisfy) their customers.
企业只有满足客户需求才能生存下去。
If you want to mention something that did in fact happen or is in fact true, use if ... not. 如要表示某事的确发生过或的确是事实,用 if ... not
If he had not tripped, he would have won (= but he did trip ).
要不是他被绊倒了,他就赢了。
Use in case when talking about something that is or should be done because something might happen. 表示因为某事有可能发生而做或应该做另一件事,用 in case
I would go out if it wasn’t raining (= but it is raining ).
要不是下雨,我就出去了。
Use or or or else to say what bad thing will definitely happen if something else does not happen. 表示如果不做另一件事,某件不好的事肯定会发生,用 or 或 or else
Take a sweater in case you get cold (NOT 不说 unless you get cold).
带一件毛衣,以防你觉得冷。
You’d better go, or else you’ll miss the train (NOT 不说 unless you miss the train).
你该走了,否则会赶不上火车的。
nGRAMMAR: Choosing the right tense
You use the simple present tense with unless:
Unless the government changes its policy, the economic situation will get worse.
Don’t use ‘will’ in the clause after unless. ✗Don’t say: Unless the government will change its policy ...
You can also use the present perfect tense with unless:
I won’t change anything unless someone has asked me to.
✗Don’t say: unless someone will have asked me to | unless someone will ask me to
To talk about the past, use the simple past with unless:
Unless the company got a loan, it would go bankrupt.
They threatened to kill him unless he gave them the money.
✗Don’t say: Unless the company would get a loan ...
nUSAGE: Unless, in case, or else
You use unless when saying that if something does not happen, something else will happen:
Unless I hear from you (=if I don’t hear from you), I’ll assume everything’s OK.
You use in case when saying that you do something in order to be prepared if something happens:
Take a sweater in case you get cold.
带一件毛衣,以防你觉得冷。
You use or else when saying that something bad will happen if you do not do something:
You’d better go now, or else you’ll miss the train.