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ESL forum >
Ask for help > unless+V-ING?
unless+V-ING?
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treasure0911
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unless+V-ING?
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Is it correct to say
"You won �t help them unless buying this product." ?
I would rather say" unless you buy" and can �t find a rule saying otherwise but that does not sound that bad to use the -ing form .
I was wondering if it could be right since my students use it quite often.
Thank you for your help.
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24 Nov 2010
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PhilipR
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Unless is a subordinating conjunction and requires a (dependent) clause (subject-verb); using a gerund/verb in -ing only is incorrect. You are right: you should say �unless you buy �.
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24 Nov 2010
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adriennesmiles
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You could change �unless � to �without � and use the continuous verb.
eg: "You won �t help them without buying this product." |
24 Nov 2010
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yanogator
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Actually, since "you" is the subject, the "buying" would refer to "you" rather than "them", so "You won �t help them without buying this product" doesn �t produce the desired result. You could say "You won �t help them without their buying the product", but it sounds pretty formal.
Bruce |
24 Nov 2010
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