Difference between Until and Unless - English conjunction words

Hi. This is Harry and welcome back to my English grammar classes. What we're talking to today

about is a bit of grammar in relation to two particular words unless and until. These seem

to cause students a lot of trouble even though the words are no way connected. In fact, the

only connection they have is that they're both described as conjunctions. But that's

the only thing that they have in common. But as I said, they do cause my students a lot

of problems. So I thought what I would do today is spell out specifically with lots

of examples, exactly what we mean and how you can use them. Okay. So I'm going to explain

them to you. I'm going to give you examples of each, and I’ll work you through the example.

So hopefully by the end of the lesson you'll know the difference between unless and until.

And at the end I'm also going to give you an explanation as to until and till, because

that's something else that causes my students a little bit of confusion. Okay. Well, unless

and until they're both conjunctions. So we use them in sentences to join some thoughts.

Okay. So there's a commonality between them, but in every other respect, they are very

different. So let's look first of all at unless. So when we're using it, unless, we don't use

it with any negative word, it's not followed with a negative. We can't say unless not or

unless no or unless I didn't. Okay. So you cannot follow it with a negative only with

a positive. And you can't follow it with will. Unless I will. Okay. So there are things that

you cannot do, but when we use it in the, in the sentence, let me give you an example...

You can't play football outside unless you have finished your homework.

Okay? So, here we're being very specific. We're telling the person what he has to do

if he wants to play outside. And this is the actual comparison we can make because it's

very similar in some ways to the word IF. It's conditional. Okay? So you're introducing

the condition. So he cannot play outside unless he finishes his homework. Okay. You could

rewrite that and say: If you finish your homework, you can play outside. So there you put a positive:

If you finish your homework, you can play outside. Unless you finish your homework,

you can't play outside. Okay. So the if and unless they're opposites, but they give you

the exact same meaning in the sentence. So there's a condition there, cause we always

use if when we're talking about the condition. So let me give you that example again. You

can't play outside unless you finish your homework.

You can't play outside unless you finish your homework. Okay? So let me just expand on that

again for you. So we've said you can't use a negative after unless, okay. So in the example

I've given you - You can't play football unless you do your homework first. So the negative

comes first. You can't, you cannot play football unless you do your homework first. And then

how I twisted it around. If you want to use the positive with if. If you do your homework

then you can play outside. Okay? So if you do your homework, you can play football outside.

So unless and if in that situation are both opposites. Okay. But they are giving you the

same meaning one with a positive spin- If. One with the negative spin - unless. Okay.

Let me give you some, some more examples.

So I left my keys at home. So you phone your partner to say you've left your keys of the

house at home. So Hi, really sorry to bother you. I've left my keys at home so unless you're

home before me, I'm going to have to wait. Yeah. Okay. So you're ringing to say you've

left your keys at home, you've done a stupid thing. You're, you were in a rush this morning

and unless, so this is where the negative comes, unless they get home before you, you're

going to have to wait. Okay. So if they can get home then everything is going to be okay.

And here we have that word again IF. If they can get home before you, then everything's

going to be okay. But as normal, if you are home first, you're now going to have to wait

because you don't have your keys.

So you ring them. Sorry to ring you, sorry to annoy you, I've left my keys at home and

unless you can get home before me, I'm going to have to wait. Okay. So let me give you

another example. We'd go to the kitchen. We're trying to get out to work and look in the

cupboards and we have no coffee. Okay. Oh, I'll get some coffee on my way home. Unless

you want to run out to the shop now and get some. Okay. So you're giving somebody the

choice. You open the cupboards, there's no coffee. Oh, I get some on my way home this

evening. Unless you want to go now quickly and get some. Okay. Okay. And one more example,

and here we're going to put unless at the beginning of the sentence and … so it doesn't

really matter where you put it. The meaning is exactly the same. So unless he studies

harder, he really isn't going to pass that exam at the end of the year.

So you're talking to your partner about one of the children, he's having a difficult time

at school. So you're wondering how are things going to improve? How is he going to get that

final exam so he can get into university? So unless he studies harder, he isn't going

to be able to pass this exam at the end of the year. So we're putting on less at the

beginning, still negative unless he studies harder. Meaning if he studies harder than

yes, he has a chance of doing the exams, but unless he studies harder than he's not gone

to be successful. Okay. So we can use on less as an opposite to if and when we use, unless

we don't follow it with it a negative, we can only follow it with a positive. And we

can twist it if we want to use if, okay.

So let's look at until again, as we said before, it's a conjunction.

It's different than unless and when we're using until it's constrained by time. It's

always time constraints. Okay. It's always about restriction. So let's give you a quick

example. I lived with my grandmother until I was 15. I lived with my grandmother until

I was 15. So what does it mean? It means that for a long part of your childhood, maybe from

a young age of two or three, you lived with somebody other than your parents, in this

case, your grandmother until you were 15. So all to that age, two 15 and then from 15,

something changed. Perhaps you went back and live with your parents or you went somewhere

else. But the time constraint is that period of your life from early up to your mid teens

or 15 you were, you spent that time with your grandmother. So just to make sure that you

actually understand this. In, in, in the best way possible when we're talking about, until,

as I said, it's time constraints.

So it's constrained before and up to the particular time, but not after. So in the example that

I gave you about living with the grandmother until 15. He was there before, up to the age

of 15. So before 15, up to the age of 15, but after something changed. So before an

up to but not after. So always time constraints. So let me give you a few more examples. I

don't have any money for the shops. We need to go shopping or you'll have to wait until

I get paid at the end of the week. You'll have to wait until I get paid at the end of

the week. So here the time constraint is up to the end of the week, whether that's Friday

or Saturday, whenever you get paid. So before that and up to that, you can't have any money

because I don't have any. After that I will have money. Hopefully I will get paid.

So before and up to. So you want to go shopping? I'm sorry I don't have any money. You will

have to wait until I get paid at the end of the week. Okay. Can I give, I'll give you

another example. I've never been in the USA until last year. I had never been in the USA

until last year. So perhaps you went there on a holiday or you went there on a business

trip. You're really excited to tell your friend. Wow. I've never been in, in the USA until

last year. So up to last year, whatever year that was, that the year today is 2019, last

year would have been 2018. So up to and until, before 2018 you had never been in the USA

and then it changed. Okay. So now you can say to somebody: Well, I have been there,

but up to last year I hadn't been. So until last year I hadn't been in the USA.

Okay. And the third example, you're talking to your son or daughter about some mathematical

problem and the homework and say: Oh, can't you wait until your father comes home? Can't

you wait until your father gets home and he will help you? So can you wait, okay, until

he gets home. So that constrained, now that is a time restriction. You don't know what

time he's going to be home and they're not telling you what time it is now, but it's

that restriction until he gets home and when he gets home, you can ask him and then he'll

probably help you. So can’t, can you not wait until your father gets home and then

he will help you with it. Okay. So this is everything to do with until. It's always about

time and it's always a time constraint.

And finally then I just want to give you a little bit about until and till, okay? Until

- U N T I L till - T I L L. So just be careful with the spelling of that. And the good news

is that they're exactly the same and there's no need to be confused. The only difference

is that until is a little bit more formal and till is very informal. Okay? Yeah. There's

a song ’Till the 12th of never’. Yeah. There's a song and they use the little abbreviated

version of it till rather than until, okay. But until formal and till is informal. So

you can use either of them. If you're writing a letter and you're writing to somebody important,

then I would suggest you use until. If you're speaking in an informal way, as most of us

do now, till is absolutely acceptable. And you don't have to use until. They have exactly

the same meaning.

Okay, well, here we are at the end of yet another lesson. And I hope you have enjoyed

it. And I've explained to you properly the difference between unless and until, and also

giving you the information about until and till. So when you've gone through those examples,

hopefully you'll be able to practise them yourself and you won't be making any mistakes

in the future. Okay? So remember as always, press that button and subscribe to the channel

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