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Speaker 1: Unless you have something else to do right now, you

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should listen to this whole podcast episode. And as long

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as you're listening, why not take notes in case you

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want to use the phrases from this lesson in your

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daily English.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast coming to you from

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New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael.

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Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael

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here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.

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This is Happy English Podcast Episode eight eighty seven. How

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to use unless, as long as and in case. Thanks

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for tuning in and welcome back to the Happy English Podcast. Now,

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today's topic actually comes from what question. In one of

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my classes, my student was planning an event and she said,

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we're going to go hiking unless it rains, and that

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led to a great question. How is unless different from

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if so? That's what I want to dig into today.

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These three little phrases, unless, as long as, and in

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case all help us talk about situations that might happen,

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but they each have a different nuance and getting them

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right can make your English sound more natural. Let's start

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with unless, unless means if not. Unless is kind of

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the opposite of if so. If I say, let's go

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hiking unless it rains. What I really mean is let's

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go hiking if it doesn't rain. Again, unless mean if not,

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that's it. Like the other day my neighbor said he

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was planning on painting his garage door unless it started raining.

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Here's another one, I'll go to the mall tomorrow unless

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the boss makes me work late. So using unless is

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a great way to talk about something that will happen

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unless there's a specific reason it won't, like I'll be

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there by three o'clock unless there's traffic. And by the way,

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we also use unless in sentences that already sound negative,

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like we can't start the meeting unless the boss is here.

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That's totally normal in English, even though can't is negative,

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and unless kind of means if not using them together

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isn't a double negative, it just means if some condition

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is not met, the other thing won't happen, Like you

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won't get into that club unless you're twenty one, or

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you won't get an eight hundred on the tok unless

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you study a little every day. Again, these all mean

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that if the condition isn't met, the thing won't happen.

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So yeah, even with a negative verb, unless fits in perfectly.

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Now here's something to watch out for. Sometimes I hear

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people say unless if like unless if it rains, but

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we don't use unless and if like that. In English,

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it's just unless it rains nice and clean. All right.

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Next up, let's talk about as long as as long

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as means only if or provided that you're saying this

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thing can happen, but only under this condition. Like the

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other day, my friend said, you can borrow my car

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as long as you fill up the gas tank afterwards.

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That's the condition. If I fill up the tank, I

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can use the car. Or I told my niece you

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could go out with your friends as long as you're

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home by ten. That's the rule. No home by ten,

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no going out. And here's a fun one. A few

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months ago, I had lunch with a student who said, Michael,

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I want to keep practicing English every day as long

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as I don't get burned out. Totally natural use. He's saying,

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I'll keep going, but only if I can handle it.

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We use as long as a lot when we're planning

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something or negotiating with someone, Like when I invited my

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buddy ed to the karaoke bar. He was like, sure,

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I'll go to karaoke with you as long as I

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don't have to sing. We use that all the time.

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This phrase helps you set a condition in a friendly,

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casual way. Now let's move on to the third one,

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and this one is different in case. We use in

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case to talk about doing something because something else might happen.

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In case is all about preparing for a possibility. Like

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before I left the house this morning, I grabbed my

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umbrella in case it rains, not because it's raining now,

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but because it might rain. Same thing if I say

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I brought snacks in case I get hungry later. I'm

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not hungry now, but it could happen, so I'm ready.

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This is where in case is different from if if

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I say I'll take an umbrella if it rains, that

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means I'll decide about taking my umbrella later when it

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starts raining. I'll take an umbrella if it rains. But

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I'll take an umbrella in case it rains means I'm

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taking it now to prepare for rain. There's a subtle

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difference in the meeting that you need to be careful about.

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Here's another example. A friend of mine was hosting a

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party and she told me I brought extra drinks in

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case more people show up. She didn't know how many

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guests would come, but she was ready. That's in case.

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And here's one more. Leave the porch light on in

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case I get home after dark. That's what I texted

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my sister when I visited her last year. Again, I'm

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not saying I will get home after dark, but just

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in case. It's all about being prepared. Okay, let's do

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a quick review on means. If not, I'll go for

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a walk unless it rains, as long as means only

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if you can go out as long as you're home

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by ten. And in case means because something might happen,

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bring a jacket in case it gets cold. So here's

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your challenge. Think about your plans for the next few days.

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Are you going anywhere doing anything? Try making one sentence

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with each of these expressions, like I'll join the online

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class unless my internet goes out, or I'll cook dinner

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as long as you do the dishes, and I'll leave

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early in case there's traffic. Try that and make your

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English just a little more natural this week. And hey,

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if you want to practice the English from this and

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all of my podcasts with me and a group of

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other awesome English learners. Come check out my podcast Learner's

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Study Group. We meet once a week and go over

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the language from these podcasts lessons together. It's a great

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way to build confidence and improve your speaking. Just check

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the link below where you are listening to this podcast

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right now, or visit Myhappy English dot com and choose

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podcast episode eight eighty seven for more info. Hey, thanks

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for listening, and remember, learning another language is not easy,

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but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you

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on your journey.

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Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

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