実践英会話教室5

As long as （〜さえすれば）

前に、unless（〜しなければ）の使い方を学びましたが、今回は、as long as（〜さえすれば、〜であるからには）です。この二つの表現は、意味が似ていて、まぎらわしいですから、これを読んだ後、unlessの使いかたの復習をしておいてください。

As long asは、「〜さえすれば」（but only if）を意味し、絶対的条件を表現するのに使われます。

  • Shoko will go to the party as long as Shuji goes with her.
    （正子は、修二が一緒に行くのなら、パーティーに行きます。）
    = Shoko will go but only if Shuji goes with her.

    (この表現は、本来、Shoko won't go unless Shuji goes with her. （正子は、修二が彼女と一緒に行かなければ、パーティーには行かないでしょう。）と同じなのですが、she will go instead of she won't go 〈行かない）ことよりも、will go（行く）方にかけている時に使うのです。


  • We won't miss the train as long as you hurry.
    （あなたが急ぎさえすれば、私たちは列車に乗り遅れないでしょう。）
    = We won't miss the train, but only if you hurry.

    (これは、We will miss the train if you don't hurry （あなたが急がなければ、私達は列車に乗り遅れるでしょう。）と同じなのですが、話し手はwon't miss the train（列車に乗り遅れない）方にかけているのです。.)

as long asのかわりには、provided (that) やproviding (that)も使えますが、一般的にではありません。

  • Shoko will go to the party provided that Shuji goes with her.
  • We won't miss the train providing that you hurry.

    未来のことを話している時でも、as long as以下にwillを使ってはいけません。
    上の例文はすべて未来のことを示していますが、as long as以下の文では現在形を使うこと！！



As Long As

In a previous lesson we studied how to use the word unless, which means except if. This time we are studying as long as, which means but only if. These two words are confusing to students because they're very similar in meaning, so it would be a good idea to review the lesson on unless after doing this lesson.

As long as means but only if. It is used to express an absolute condition () - something that must occur. Read these examples:

  • Shoko will go to the party as long as Shuji goes with her.
    = Shoko will go but only if Shuji goes with her.

    (This is essentially the same as: Shoko won't go unless Shuji > goes with her. But when a speaker uses she will go instead of she won't go it usually means that the speaker believes she > will go.)


  • We won't miss the train as long as you hurry.
    = We won't miss the train, but only if you hurry.

    (This is similar to: We will miss the train if you don't hurry but the speaker is more positive and reassuring.)

You can also say provided (that) or providing (that) instead of as long as, but they are not as common:

  • Shoko will go to the party provided that Shuji goes with her.
  • We won't miss the train providing that you hurry.

    Do not use will with as long as when you are talking about the future! Notice that all the examples above are in the future but use present tense verbs with as long as.

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