Pls explain in general the use of provided that,
1st:
Is it correct to use it in the past and present?
NOT A TEACHER
(1) You have asked a super difficult question. I, too, am waiting for a
teacher to give us the answers.
(2) I only wanted to add a few words:
(a) Two brothers named H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler wrote a book many years ago
(in 1906) entitled The King's English. They explained the correct use of "provided
(that)." Their explanation is too difficult for me to understand well. If there is a good
library near you, you might check it out. Look for "provided" in the index. The two
brothers were upset because even The Times newspaper (in London) did not use the
word correctly! (At that time, The Times was the newspaper read by the upper
classes of England.)
(b) There is, however, one sentence from their discussion that I DO understand. Here
it is:
"It can never be wrong to write if instead of provided: to write provided instead
of if will generally be wrong."
I think that this means in easy English:
(a) If you are confused about using "if" or "provided (that)," always choose IF.
(b) Be SUPER careful before you choose "provided (that)." Usually, the "correct"
word will be "if" in most sentences.
P.S. I am glad that you want to learn the proper use of "provided that." It is, indeed,
a beautiful word. For example, I take a walk every day. When I am almost finished
with my walk, I think to myself: Provided that I get home safely, I will have walked
5 miles today. (I think that I have used "provided that" correctly. It also has a
different meaning from "if" in my sentence, but I am not able to explain why.)