Difference Between Until and Unless

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Difference Between Until and Unless

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Difference Between Until And Unless

Until vs Unless

A conjunction is a word or an idiomatic phrase that is used to connect

two words, phrases, sentences, or clauses. There are several types of
conjunctions:

Coordinating conjunctions, which join two or more items of the same

syntactic weight. Examples are the words for, and, but, or, and so.
Correlative conjunctions, which are pairs that coordinate two things.
Examples are either/or, both/and, whether/or, and neither/nor.
Subordinating conjunctions, which introduce a separate clause.
Examples are the words because, than, even if, after, although, while,
since, though, until, and unless.

The word “until” is a conjunction that is used to refer to the time that
took place or passed before an event or incident. It is also used to
signify a condition such as the case when one says, “You cannot
watch television until you finish washing the dishes.”

It means “up to the time” or “till the time.” It can be used as a

preposition, for example: Brenda did not arrive until the seminar was
almost over. It is also used to show one’s aim of finishing a job or task
even if there are things that makes accomplishing it difficult. The word
“until” comes from the Old English word “end” which was first used in
the 13th century.

The word “unless,” on the other hand, is a conjunction that is used to

refer to a condition which makes the event or incident that precedes it
impossible. It has the same connotation as the words “if” and
“except.” An example is this sentence: Unless you give me the money,
I am not going to give you the shoes.
It means “under the circumstances” and is used to refer to the act of
choosing one thing over another. It is a conditional word that provides
an option of doing or choosing between two things. It is also used to
refer to the need for one thing to happen in order for another to also
happen.

Examples are the following sentences:

Unless you let him have the dog, he will not go away.
The door will not open unless you remove the nail that Andrew had put
on it.
The word “unless” comes from the mid 16th century word “onlesse”
which was derived from the phrase “on lesse” (than) meaning “on a
less condition than” which was later changed to “unless” due to its
negative connotation.

Summary:

1.“Until” is a conjunction that is used to refer to the time that took

place before an incident while the word “unless” is a conjunction that
is used in the same manner as the words “if” and “except.”
2.“Until” means “up to the time” while “unless” means “under the
circumstances.”
3.The word “until” comes from the Old English word “end” and was
first used in the 13th century while the word “unless” comes from the
word “onlesse” which was later changed to “unless.”
4.Both have conditional connotations while “until” shows how one
tries to do something despite hardships while “unless” provides an
option between doing one thing over another and of doing something
so that another thing may also happen.