Wiki page unless changed
> Jorge "LlambÃas" wrote:
> >"Unless" would seem to require its complement to be
> >either false or very unlikely/exceptional.
> >
> Why? Sure, you *can* use "unless" that way. But it's also quite
> commonly used to mean "if not..."
I agree "unless" is usually interchangeable with "if not".
But they both normally carry more baggage than plain logical OR.
Neither of them is usually interchangeable with plain "or".
> There'll be a game on Thursday, unless it rains. (not necessarily very
> unlikely!)
Default: There'll be a game on Thusday.
Exception: if it rains on Thusrday, there won't/may not be a game.
It doesn't mean the same as "it'll rain on Thursday, unless there
is a game", which it should if "unless" was just OR.
> Fill out form XJ912/3 unless you have already filed waiver 99234.
> (perfectly likely)
>
> other examples abound. I don't see extreme unlikeliness any more
> implied in "unless" than it is in "if".
Right, it desn't have to be extreme. It's more like an exception.
mu'o mi'e xorxes
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