unless + a negative construction

[maferaluz]

Hi there,

I´m working on sentence transformation and I am not sure about the following sentence.

"My uncle would be able to help us if he didn´t work extra hours".

UNLESS___________________________________________________________________________.

This is my attempt:

Unless my uncle didn´t work extra hours, he would be able to help us.

It sounds awkward to me and I know that "unless" is negative and it can´t be followed by a negative verb.

But, what is the best answer then?

I wonder if you can help me. Thanks in advance!

 

[Forero]

Unless means, approximately, "if not", so to change if to unless, you need to negate the rest of the subordinate clause. Unless can be followed by a negative verb if it replaces if with a positive:

My uncle can help us if he gets off work soon enough.
= My uncle can help us unless he doesn't get off work soon enough.

But the negative of a negative is a positive:

My uncle can help us if he doesn't have to stay late at work.
= My uncle can help us unless he has to stay late at work.

My uncle will be able to help us if he doesn't work extra hours.
= Unless my uncle works extra hours, he will be able to help us.

The thread topic sentence may be the past tense version of my last example:

My uncle would be able to help us if he didn't work extra hours.
Unless my uncle worked extra hours, he would be able to help us.

 

[maferaluz]

Thank you for your explanation, Forero. Now it is very clear.