The Dependency Chain
One outcome hanging from two hooks — one you must secure, one already fixed to the wall.
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One of these is already holding. The other you still have to secure.
Express conditions with structures beyond if — one of the fastest routes to grammatical range without risking accuracy.
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Eight structures that replace if — and the difference between a condition you impose and one you assume.
Most ways of showing grammatical range carry risk. Complex sentences invite comma errors; unusual tenses invite agreement errors.
These eight structures carry almost none. They slot into the same position if occupies, they take simple grammar, and they immediately look more controlled than a paragraph with if four times in it.
One outcome hanging from two hooks — one you must secure, one already fixed to the wall.
One of these is already holding. The other you still have to secure.
Each structure with the kind of condition it sets, what must follow it, and a sentence you can borrow.
+ CLAUSE
Provided that funding continues, the scheme will expand.
The condition is not yet secured.
+ CLAUSE
Given that resources are limited, priorities must be set.
The reader already grants this.
+ CLAUSE · means if… not
Unless funding increases, services will close.
✗ Never add a second negative after it.
+ NOUN only
In the absence of regulation, standards fall.
The noun-phrase version of "unless".
+ NOUN or -ING
The outcome depends on several factors.
One factor among many.
+ NOUN or -ING
The entire policy hinges on public consent.
⚠ ONE deciding factor only.
+ NOUN or -ING
Expansion is contingent on continued funding.
✗ contingent on that funding continues
+ NOUN only
Approval is subject to parliamentary review.
Formal register; suits institutional subjects.
Three take clauses, five take nouns. That split causes more errors here than the meanings do.
Required, assumed, negative, or naming the dependency itself.
Terms
Definitions
Three decisions turning on whether the reader already accepts the condition.
One
The situation: the reader already accepts that resources are limited. The writer is building on that.
Candidates: provided that / given that
The expert chooses:
Because:
Two
The situation: funding has not been secured. The writer wants to say the scheme works only if it is.
Candidates: given that / provided that
The expert chooses:
Because:
Three
The words that follow: continued government funding. That is a noun phrase, not a clause.
Candidates: provided that / contingent on
The expert chooses:
Because:
A paragraph using if six times. Replace four — and leave two alone.
Can renewable energy replace fossil fuels?
global demand for electricity continues to rise, no single source will be sufficient on its own — a point on which almost all analysts now agree.
The transition storage technology improving faster than it currently is. Without cheaper batteries, nothing else in the plan works.
governments maintain subsidies for at least another decade, solar capacity is likely to keep expanding at its present rate.
a coordinated international agreement, individual countries have little incentive to move first.
Progress will be slow the cost of grid upgrades falls significantly.
It remains unclear this can be achieved before 2040, though several studies suggest it is possible.
Take a position that holds only under a stated condition, and have the structure checked.
Task 2 prompt: Some people believe that all students should be required to study a second language until the age of eighteen.
Use a different structure in each — and do not use if in either.
Two sentences, two different structures, no 'if'.
Name it, and name the structure.