AEE 2597: As Long As You Listen Today, You'll Build this Skill in English

Summary

All Ears English Podcast - Episode 2597: As Long As You Listen Today, You'll Build This Skill in English

Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan
Release Date: April 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this third installment of a three-part series, Lindsay and Michelle explore advanced ways to express conditionality in English—that is, how to say something can happen, but only if specific requirements or conditions are met. The focus is on useful structures and vocabulary for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to sound more fluent and nuanced, especially in more formal or written contexts. The episode wraps up the series, which began with expressions for denying permission and continued with ways to give permission in English.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction to the Three-Part Series

• Recap of Parts 1 & 2:
  • Part 1 (Ep. 2576): Lindsay’s experience in Rome, learning how to more naturally say “you can’t do something” in English.
  • Part 2 (Business English 546): Focused on giving permission at work.
• Today's Focus: Phrasing for conditional permission or possibilities—how to say yes, but with strings attached.
  • "It's not always just, yes you can do this, no you can't do this... There's this gray area and we need to be able to express this." —Michelle [05:03]

2. Everyday Relevance of Conditional Language

• Examples from family life (deals with kids), workplaces, and broader social contexts.
• Recognizes that many listeners are parents and use these conditional skills daily.
  • "So many of our listeners have families and they are making these little deals every morning..." —Lindsay [06:09]

3. Key Structures for Conditional Statements

a) "Provided that"

• Formal; better suited to workplace or written contexts.
• Example: "You are allowed to use the party room provided that you have it completely cleaned after you’re done." —Lindsay [06:59]
• "She’s allowed to use my office for work, provided that she brings her license to sign in at security." —Michelle [07:12]

b) "If," "Only If," and "If and Only If"

• More common and less formal; "If and only if" is notably emphatic or dramatic.
• Example: "You’re welcome to use my car if you have it back before 3 pm." —Lindsay [07:53]
• "That works on our end only if we get confirmation 48 hours before." —Michelle [07:47]

c) "Subject to"

• Formal and often found in writing, policy, or signage.
• Example: "Feel free to use the kitchen, but it’s subject to availability. You have to check the chart." —Lindsay [08:23]
• "You can borrow my iPad, subject to finishing your project." —Michelle [08:37]

d) "With Approval"

• Slightly formal; often used with processes or authority figures.
• Example: "You can adopt a dog with approval of the adoption agency." —Lindsay [10:21]
• "You’re welcome to come to our house with approval from your parents." —Michelle [10:55]

e) "As Long As"

• Neutral, friendly, widely used in conversation; not formal.
• Example: "Feel free to bring your friend to my party, as long as she follows the dress code." —Michelle [12:06]
• "You can drive the company car as long as you fill it up before you come back." —Lindsay [12:10]

4. Which Structure Is Best?

• "As long as" is identified as the most universal and connection-focused structure:
  • "I do think it’s ‘as long as.’ Just because I think that’s just the most universal one... That’s going to make people feel like the most comfortable, not like you’re bossing them around..." —Michelle [12:50]
  • Formal structures (like "provided that" or "subject to") put distance between people—sometimes needed in business or policy, less so in friendly exchanges.

5. Role Play (Borrowing a Car)

• Demonstrates use of conditional phrasing in a natural, friendly conversation.
  • Michelle: "It would be so helpful if you would let me use it for the weekend."
  • Lindsay: "You can use it as long as you fill it up after." [14:19]
  • Lindsay: "And provided that you pay attention to all the traffic laws. I know how you like to drive." [14:23]
  • Michelle: "I haven’t gotten a ticket in years. And when I get my car back from the shop, you can always use it if you do me this favor." [14:29]

6. Bonus: "If and Only If"

• Used for emphasis, drama, or when stakes are (jokingly) higher.
  • "That one’s a little bonus for today. I think that one’s just emphatic... Maybe you’ve had trouble with this in the past: ‘You can go to the movies if and only if you actually clean your room this time.’" —Lindsay [15:56–16:19]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Life is complex, right? Life is full of these complexities. It’s not always just it’s okay to sit here or it’s not okay to sit here. It’s okay to sit here—under what conditions?" —Lindsay [16:44]
• "We escalated the complexity in this series for our listeners. So I love that." —Lindsay [17:04]
• "[‘As long as’] rolls off the tongue... you’re going to hear this one everywhere." —Michelle [12:18]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Series Recap & Context: 02:12–03:50
• Purpose and Relevance of Conditions Language: 05:01–06:49
• Discussion of Formal vs. Informal Expressions: 06:49–09:01
• Examples & Dialogue for Each Phrase: 06:52–12:18
• Best Structure for Connection: 12:38–13:56
• Role Play (Borrowing a Car): 14:09–15:24
• Bonus: "If and Only If": 15:56–16:30
• Takeaways & Series Conclusion: 16:41–17:11

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Episode Takeaways

• English has a range of expressions to show conditions for permission, from very formal ("provided that," "subject to") to friendly and common ("as long as," "if").
• The choice of wording affects tone and connection with others; "as long as" is universally comfortable, while formal phrases signal distance or authority.
• Mastering these phrasings not only improves English fluency but also helps learners sound more natural and nuanced in both everyday and professional situations.

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Recommendation:
For deeper understanding and practice, listen to all three parts of the series and consider when to use formal vs. informal conditional structures as you build connections in English.

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Transcript

[Narrator/Announcer]

This is an All Ears English podcast.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Episode 2597. As long as you listen today, you'll

[Narrator/Announcer]

build this English skill.

[Narrator/Promoter]

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast. Downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American hosts, Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Colorado and New York City, usa. To get real time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the Allears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward/app.

[Michelle Kaplan]

In this third part of our three part series, get the most complex ways to state that something is conditional based on something else happening. Listen in today to learn more.

[Narrator/Promoter]

Who are you in your native language? Confident, Funny, Opinionated. Now, who are you in English? If you feel smaller, quieter or less expressive, that's not because you're bad at English. It's because fluency is tied to identity. When you're unsure, you hold back. And when you hold back, people don't see the real you. You don't need perfect grammar. You need clarity about what is holding you back. In just two minutes you can discover your English level and what's slowing your progress for free. Go to allersenglish.com fluencyscore that's allearsenglish.com F L U E N C Y S C O R E.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Hey there, Michelle. How's it going today?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Everything is good over here, Lindsay. I am so excited for today's episode because we are concluding a series. Yes, three part series. And it, it's going to be really interesting. This one. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

It started with my adventure on the Spanish Steps in. In Rome, Italy.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Always a good place to start an adventure. And what did we do in parts one and two? So what was 2576 all about, Michelle?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, so 2576 was Lindsay's language adventure on the Spanish Steps. And it is basically this idea came about from your experience on the Spanish Steps where a policeman told you b to that it's, it's. He said it not possible. Right, right. To.

[Lindsay McMahon]

To sit down.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

To sit on the st.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right. And we talked about better ways to. More natural ways, I'll say. To tell somebody that they can't do something.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Exactly. And then, and then part two of the series was over on Business English. Right, Michelle? That was Business English546. How to give permission in English. So this series is all about whether something is possible, how to make it possible. And then today, Michelle, what is part three? What are we getting into for our listeners today?

[Michelle Kaplan]

So this is a little bit, I guess, kind of a little bit of a combo. So in this final part, we are going to talk about how to say something can happen. Right. Something is okay to do, but there are conditions. Right. Meaning it's not just a simple yes or no. There's something that has to happen in order for something to be okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

This is where we get into higher level English.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

For our listeners. Right. You know, B1B or sorry, B2C1 level. This is where we get into those more complex sentences which we need on aisles to score seven or higher. Right. So this is going to be so good for our listeners today.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Because it's not always just, yes, you can do this, no, you can't do this. Right. There's, there's sometimes there's more information that you need to get across. So we're going to help you do that today. But before we do that, we want to say a huge thank you to our reviewers.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Huge thank you today to Sam from Canada who left us a beautiful review and said fantastic. Well, thank you, Sam. Somaya Mohamedi, thank you so much from Finland and Ata Abdulaz from Iran on February 8th. Huge thank you to these amazing reviewers. Guys, these are our dedicated reviewers who took the time to go and leave us a review. So go ahead and do that and you may get your name announced on the show. Right, Michelle, we love to announce are the names of the people that take the time to rate and review us.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Definitely. Yes, please, please do so if you haven't already. It really means a lot to us.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So, yes. All right. So again, this is about these conditions, right. So for example, a parent may tell their child they can go to a party if they've done their homework or they can have. I mean, I feel like this is my whole life is saying, you can do this when you did this.

[Lindsay McMahon]

You could have dessert if you eat your din. What my parents used to say to

[Michelle Kaplan]

me, yeah, you can. Yeah, exact. Like always just trying to. Yeah, that's actually one of the techniques, you know, I always hear about, oh, you can say, instead of saying, no, you can't do something, say you can when you do something else. Right. There's that, you know, after you get dressed, you can do whatever. So. But this is just a really important skill because like we said, it's not always just a simple yes or no. There's this gray area and we need to be able to express this. So today we're going to go over small phrases that will help you complete saying something maybe allowed. Right. We don't know.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Exactly. And you know, this goes beyond just like making little deals with your kid.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I mean.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So so many of our listeners have kids. I just realized that so many of our listeners have families and they are making these little deals every morning to get their kid out of. Out of the house and to. On to school or daycare.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

But this also is used at the place, for sure.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. And a lot of these expressions are. They're really a little more formal sounding. So. Yeah, so probably we're gonna give you a lot. Yeah. So we're gonna go over these small phrases that. That will help you. And you know, actually in our examples, we're going to use some of the ones that we. Some phrases that we taught on the other episode. So look out for that. Make sure you listen to those other episodes. So.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right, let's dive into it.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right. What's the first one, Lindsay?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Okay, this one definitely is formal. I probably would.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Not for the kids.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Family. Not for the kids. They'll be like, what.

[Michelle Kaplan]

What are you talking.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, so the phrase is provided that. So you are allowed to use the party room provided that you have it completely cleaned after you're done. This I could see more in the workplace, Michelle, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Or she's allowed to use my office for work, provided that she brings her license to sign in at security. So again, you're imagining somebody, a friend of yours needs to borrow your office. She has some work to do, but you just need to let her know you can come, but you gotta bring your license.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right, Exactly. And then we go into something a little bit more simple, which is if or only if. And then there's the if and only if. The famous if and only if. But we. Maybe we'll get to that later.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's a good one. That is true. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

What would be some examples, Michelle?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, so that works on our end only if we get confirmation 48 hours before.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Or you're welcome to use my car if you have it back before 3pm Maybe something you'd say to a teenager, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, yes, Yep, exactly. So again, these are. You can do these things, but there are conditions.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes, there are. And this is how life works, right? Usually this is how Life Works. Subject 2 is another one. This is one that I see written a lot. Yeah, A sign or something. Right. So feel free to use the kitchen. But it's subject to availability. You have to check the chart.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So maybe you want to have a lunch meeting at work and you know, you have to actually sign up to reserve the spot. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Would be another.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Or you can borrow my iPad. Subject to finishing your project. So I, I wanted to bring this up because that's how you would use it, but that's.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Sounds a little formal, I think.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I've never said that.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, exactly. So like Lindsay pointed out, you know, this is a written or very formal. So I would save it for those situations.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Exactly.

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[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And then with approval would be the next one. You can adopt a dog with approval of the adoption agency, right? Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So did you have to. Did you have to go through a big approval process? We had.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, we had to submit like, like a profile because I had never had a dog. My partner had had a dog as a child. So we had to kind of describe our experience with dogs and puppies a little bit and describe, like our home situation. But he was, you know, he was part of a litter and they're like, okay, you want him or not? Like, they were trying to. For sure they wanted him out the door, poor baby.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well, you're giving him a very good home. Or you're welcome to come to our house with approval from your parents. So maybe, you know, it's your kids, friends and you are. I mean, sometimes Parents do talk in a slightly more formal way.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, for sure.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Some parents do. They just address their kids.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It.

[Lindsay McMahon]

You know what it makes me think of? Miracle on 34th Street. You know how there's. That. There was that whole thing where like, they, you know, they had. They. Well, there was the whole narrative with Santa Claus and they, like, they have their whole thing with Santa, but they. They're very formal, the way they talk to their daughter.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It's been that so long. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

If you watched again, that's kind of what we're getting at here. Some parents are just more formal. That's just the way they speak to their kids. Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. You.

[Lindsay McMahon]

You can use that printer with super. Your approval. Okay, good.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And then we'll do one more. So this is also a little, you know, this is a little more neutral. Not. Not formal, not informal, as long as. So feel free to bring your friend to my party. As long as she follows the dress code.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Or you can drive the company car. As long as you fill it up

[Narrator/Announcer]

before you come back.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. I'd say that one is the most common for me.

[Michelle Kaplan]

As long. I totally agree. You're gonna hear this one everywhere. This one. This one rolls off the tongue. I mean, I think if. Is also, of course, huge subject to. With approval. Those are. Those are the more formal ones maybe written, but. Yeah, as long as you're gonna hear that all the time. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

This will work for your social life, your family life, your work life. Basically. You could apply this everywhere in your life.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right, right, right, right. Everywhere.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Which one do you think is best for connection? Michelle? Excuse me.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, I. I do think it's as long as. Just. Because I think that's just the most universal one. Yeah. You can certainly use that at work. You can use it outside of work. So I would say that that's going to make people feel like the most comfortable. Not like you're bossing them around, but sometimes you do need these more intense expressions. Oh, provided that I didn't say that one too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So as long as. I don't know. That's what I think. Any other thoughts about that, Lindsay?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, I just think the more formal we get, the more distance we are trying to place between us and who we're speaking to. And there might be a time for that at work or if you're instituting a policy. For example, if you work in hr. We've talked about this before. If you send out an email to your whole company, you do want to create a little bit of Formality, a little distance. Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

About that. New policy.

[Lindsay McMahon]

But the. When we're standing in front of someone trying to build a connection, going for the more basic ones, like, as long as. Or if is really good. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Agree? Yes, definitely. All right, let's do a role play. So we're not going to use all of these, but we're going to use a nice chunk. So in this role play, I am trying to get you to let me borrow your car.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Oh, boy. We're friends. Here we go.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It would be so helpful if you would let me use it for the weekend.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I mean, you can use it as long as you fill it up after.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I can do that.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And provided that you pay attention to all the traffic laws. I know how you like to drive.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I haven't gotten a ticket in years. And when I get my car back from the shop, you can always use it if you. If you do me this favor.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Okay. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Thank you.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I know how you drive, Michelle. You get stopped for going too.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Going too slow. Yeah, exactly. I was thinking that, too. I'm like, oh, yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So we used a few of the good ones here. Like, as long as I said, you can use it as long as you fill it up after. What do we mean, fill it up? Like, fill it up.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Fill it up.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Marshmallows. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Okay, that'll be a problem. Yeah, guess. And then. And then use that. And provided that you pay attention to all the traffic laws. Now here, it's kind of in a jokey way. You're kind of. You're taking on a parent, like a parental role a little bit. Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know how you like to drive. So you're. You're joking around in a way.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I'm. Yeah, I'm joking around and showing ownership of the car. Right. That kind of thing. And then you said, I haven't gotten a ticket in years, and when I get my car back from the shop, you can always use it if you do me this favor. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Well, we're making deals now, now, Michelle.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I also wanted to point out that what you said earlier, if and only if. Right. What do we think about that? Any thoughts to how. Why we would say that?

[Lindsay McMahon]

That one's a little bonus for today. I think that one's just emphatic. I think you might hear that used in families, I guess, or. I don't know if you're just trying to be a little more dramatic.

[Michelle Kaplan]

When you're a little more dramatic, the conditions matter even more. Maybe you've had trouble with this in the past. Like you can, you can go to the movies if and only if you actually clean your room this time.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right, Exactly. You're just having more fun. I think you're just being more dramatic, having more fun. The stakes are higher. And that's just another option for our listeners for today. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, good. Absolutely. Well, this series has been a lot of fun, guys. Make sure you go check out the other episodes so that you can get the whole picture of all that we've talked about. But.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Lindsay, any other takeaways before we head off the mic?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Well, I just. I'm glad we covered this, you know, things being possible, what's possible, how to give permission and the conditions today. Because life is complex, right? Life is full of these complexities. It's not always just it's okay to sit here or it's not okay to sit here.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

It's okay to sit here. Under what conditions?

[Narrator/Promoter]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And so that's what we got into. We escalated the complexity in this series for our listeners. So I love that. I love that. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Excellent. All right, Lindsay. Well, if you're ready, we'll get off the mic. Let's do if and only if.

[Lindsay McMahon]

If and only if you're ready. I'm ready. All right, Michelle, I'll see you next time.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, Bye. Bye, guys. Bye.

[Narrator/Promoter]

Thanks for listening.

[Lindsay McMahon]

To all ears. English.

[Narrator/Promoter]

Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz, go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluencyscore. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to be. Make sure you don't miss anything.

[Narrator/Announcer]

See you next time.

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