[Grammar] Provided/Providing

[cnistor]

Hello.I have a question for you.
When do we use provided/providing in conditionals and what's the difference between the two?

 

[engee30]

Hello.I have a question for you.
When do we use provided/providing in conditionals and what's the difference between the two?

♥♦♣♠ NOT A TEACHER ♥♦♣♠

I hope this will help you a bit get the idea of the two conjunctions - provided (that) and providing (that) are synonymous, and mean something like so/as long as or only if. They seem to me a little stronger than just the conjunction if.

 

[TheParser]

Hello.I have a question for you.
When do we use provided/providing in conditionals and what's the difference between the two?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Cnistor,


(1) In the year 1906, two British brothers -- H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler

-- wrote a book entitled The King's English.

(2) It is SUPER difficult for ordinary people like me to understand, but

I have never forgotten one piece of advice they gave and that I would

like to pass on to you:

If you have a choice between using "if" or "provided," you will

NEVER make a mistake if you decide to use "if."

BUT sometimes it is possible to use "provided" incorrectly.

THEREFORE, I most respectfully suggest that you always

use "if"; when you become an advanced student, then it might

be time to consider using "provided (that)."

(3) If you ever wish to read the brothers' advice, just get a

copy of The King's English (Does Google books on the Web have

it???) and look in the index for "provided."


***** NOT A TEACHER *****

 

[5jj]

The King's English is indeed a fascinating book, but I would not recommend it to people learning English today. It was written over a century ago, and its 'rules' were rejected even then as over-prescriptive and/or old-fashioned by some people.

If you are looking for an 'authority', you would do better to try the rather more modern Fowler's Modern English Usage (3rd edition, 1996, edited by R W Burchfield) Oxford: OUP.

 

[cnistor]

Thank you for your help.