Sometimes we need to impose specific conditions or set limits on a situation. In these cases, conditional clauses can begin with phrases such as as long as, so long as, only if, on condition that, providing (that), provided (that). As long as is more common in speaking; so long as and on condition that are more formal and more common in writing: [to a group of children] You can play in the living room as long as you don’t make a mess. So long as a tiger stands still, it is invisible in the jungle. The bank lent the company 100,000 pounds on condition that they repaid the money within six months