Otherwise

  • B2 · Upper-intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min

otherwise = if not: Pay by the fifth; otherwise, there's a late fee. I turned off the water; otherwise, the basement would have flooded. The student reads a landlord's reminders before winter, tells real results (will) from imagined ones (would, would have), and gives survival tips to a newcomer.

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Hurry,otherwiseor else

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: reminders before winterReading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find the imagined resultsGrammar exercise
  6. 6otherwise = if notGrammar rule
  7. 7Match the halvesGrammar exercise
  8. 8Which ending?Grammar exercise
  9. 9Verb forms after otherwiseGrammar exercise
  10. 10Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  11. 11The newcomerSpeaking practice
  12. 12About youGrammar exercise
  13. 13Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: which sentence is correct?Grammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: notes for the new baristaGrammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: build the sentencesGrammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: a lucky escapeDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. What is one rule in your building or at your work that everyone must follow? What happens to people who forget it?
  2. What happens where you live if you pay a bill a few days late?
  3. Who reminds you about bills and appointments: you, your phone or someone else?

Grammar rule

otherwise = if not

otherwise points back to what you just said. It gives the result if that doesn't happen, or if it isn't true.

What comes firstAfter otherwiseIt meansExample
an instruction, or what must happen (please…, must, have to, need to, should)will / can / could / might + verb, or the present for a ruleif you don't…Stir the rice now and then; otherwise, it'll stick to the pot.
an if part: If…, do thisthe other caseif it isn't soIf it's sunny, we'll eat on the porch; otherwise, we'll eat inside.
a fact nowwould / could / might + verbif that weren't trueMy sister lives nearby; otherwise, I'd hardly ever see my nephews.
a fact in the pastwould / could / might + have + past participleif that hadn't happenedMy roommate woke me up; otherwise, I would have slept through my exam.

Punctuation and position

Put a semicolon or a period before otherwise, and a comma after it: …by Friday; otherwise, … / …by Friday. Otherwise, … It can also go at the end: You'll be late otherwise. In quick speech, or (or else) does the same job: Hold on tight, or you'll fall.

Watch out

  • otherwise starts the result, never the condition: Otherwise you leave now, you'll miss the opening. → Leave now; otherwise, you'll miss the opening. (To put the condition first, use if… not or unless: If you don't leave now, …)
  • The result is what happens if the first part does NOT happen: Bring a snack; otherwise, you'll be hungry (not you won't be hungry).
  • After a fact in the past, would have + past participle, not will: My coworker reminded me about the meeting; otherwise, I will forget it. → I would have forgotten it.

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