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In case vs if
Conjunctions
Both in case and if are conjunctions. They are used to join clauses together into sentences. The in case or if clause often goes in the middle of a sentence, but it can go at the beginning. In this case, separate the clauses with a comma.
- Take a bottle of water in case you get thirsty.
- In case you get thirsty, take a bottle of water
- Call the police if you need assistance.
- If you need assistance, call the police.
In case
We use in case when we want to talk about something that might happen later. This is often an action taken as a precaution in order to prevent some later problem that we have predicted. In other words: Do this because that could happen in the future.
- I'll call you in case I need help with my homework.
- I'll take an umbrella in case it rains.
If
We use if to talk about reacting to something that has happened already. In this case, first something occurs and then we take action to deal with it. In other words: This happened, so do that.
- I'll call you if I need help with my homework.
- I'll take an umbrella if it rains.
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To do
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