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Conjunctive adverbs join sentences, not parts of
sentences.
In
choosing a
conjunctive adverb, the
relationship between
the sentences
to be connected is very important.
The conjunctive adverb
unless essentially means "if not";
it's used when the second
sentence shows the result
if the
first sentence doesn't happen:
| 1. |
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You
need to hurry. Otherwise we'll be
late
for
work.
You need to hurry; otherwise we'll be
late
for work.
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| 2. |
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Be
ready in five minutes.
Otherwise I'll
leave
without
you.
Be ready in five minutes;
otherwise
I'll
leave
without
you.
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| 3. |
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I
have a lot of work to do.
Otherwise I'd go
to
the movies with you.
I have a lot of work to do;
otherwise
I'd go
to
the movies with you.
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| 4. |
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You have to have a Bachelor's
degree and
two
years' work experience. Otherwise you can't
be admitted
to the MBA program.
You have to have a Bachelor's
degree and two
years' work experience; otherwise you can't
be admitted
to the MBA program.
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| 5. |
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Bob
isn't having problems.
Otherwise
he would've called
us.
Bob isn't having problems;
otherwise
he would've called
us.
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Notice
that there is no comma
after otherwise.
Special Note:
Sentences such as those above
may also be joined with
if
not and
unless, but the punctuation is different:
| 1. |
|
If
you don't hurry, we'll be late for work.
We'll be late for work if
you don't hurry.
Unless you hurry, we'll be late for
work.
We'll be late for work unless you hurry.
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| 2. |
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If
you aren't ready in five minutes, I'll leave
without
you.
I'll leave without you if
you
aren't ready
in
five minutes,
Unless you're ready in five minutes, I'll
leave
without you.
I'll leave without you unless
you're ready
in five minutes.
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| 3. |
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If
I don't have a lot of work to do, I'll
go
to the movies with you.
I'll go to the movies with
you if I don't
have
a lot of work to
do,
Unless I have a lot of work to do; I'll
go
to the movies with you.
I'll go to the movies with
you unless
I
have
a
lot of work to do.
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| 4. |
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If you don't have a Bachelor's degree and two
years'
work experience, you can't be admitted
to
the MBA program.
You can't be admitted to the
MBA program
if you don't
have a Bachelor's degree and two
years'
work experience,
Unless
you have a Bachelor's degree and two
years' work experience,
you can't be admitted
to the MBA program.
You can't be admitted to
the MBA program
unless you have a Bachelor's degree and
two
years' work experience.
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| 5. |
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If
Bob isn't having problems, he won't call us.
Bob won't call us if he
isn't having problems.
Unless
Bob is having problems, he
won't call us.
Bob won't call us unless he's having
problems.
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Notice that unless and if
not use commas,
not
semicolons
or
periods (full stops). Notice also
that there is no
comma
when
unless
and
if
not
are in the
middle of a sentence. |
