In this mini episode, you will learn how to use the conjunction “in case.”
Episode 313 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you how to use the conjunction “in case.” Send your questions about English and your suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hi! This is Puyan, from Iran. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 313 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you how to use the conjunction in case. In case. That’s two words: in case: i-n, c-a-s-e. In case.
What does in case mean? In case means two different things. The first thing it means is “if.” If. This is the meaning that you can see in a sentence like this:
“In case you don’t know who I am, my name is Ben.” In case you don’t know who I am, my name is Ben.
This just means “If you don’t know who I am, my name is Ben.” If you don’t know who I am. I could also say it like this: “My name is Ben, in case you don’t know who I am.” My name is Ben, in case you don’t know who I am. This conjunction, in case, can connect two different ideas, and it can have the meaning of “if.”
In case can have another meaning also, and this other meaning, I think, is more common, and it is a little bit more complicated. It’s a little bit harder to explain. The other way that we use this conjunction, in case, is to mean “as a way of preparing for something that might happen.” I told you: it’s more complicated. It means “as a way of preparing for something that might happen.”
This is the meaning of in case that you can see in this sentence:
“In case it rains later, I brought an umbrella.” In case it rains later, I brought an umbrella.
This means “as a way of preparing for rain (or as a way of preparing for rainy weather) that might come later, I brought an umbrella.” “I brought an umbrella as a way of preparing for something that might happen, as a way of preparing for rain that might happen.”
Here is another sentence that uses in case in this way:
“He always charges his phone before he leaves the house in case he doesn’t have the chance to do it later.” He always charges his phone before he leaves the house in case he doesn’t have the chance to do it later.
In other words, “He charges his phone before he leaves the house as a way of preparing for the possibility that he will not be able to charge his phone later.” “He charges his phone as a way of preparing for something that might happen.”
Maybe you have also heard people say just in case. Just in case. How is just in case different from in case? I don’t think the meaning is different at all. I think just in case means the same thing as in case. But I think just in case can sound a little bit more friendly or a little bit more casual. If you use in case instead of just in case, your English will not sound unfriendly. It will not sound rude. But if you say just in case, I think your English will sound a little bit more friendly.
And that is _in case_—and _just in case_—a conjunction that I think you should know how to use.
Outro
This is the end of episode 313 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Puyan recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!