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Teo Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

if...or not

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001. I don't know 01b00whether 02b00he will go with me.02br
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002. I don't know 01b00if 02b00he will go with me. 02br
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003. I don't know 01b00whether 02b00he will go with me 01b00or not02b00.02br
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004. I don't know 01b00if 02b00he will go with me 01b00or not02b00. 02br
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00Sentences 1, 2, 3 are correct. Is sentence 4 also acceptable?02br
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Top answer

0 01blockquote 01cite 10Teo12cite 12br 12br 101. 12br 12br 102. I don't know 11b 10if 12b 10he will go with me.

— Milky

  • 0 01blockquote 01cite 10Teo12cite 12br 12br 101.
  • 12br 12br 102.
  • I don't know 11b 10if 12b 10he will go with me.
  • 12br 12br 103.
  • 12br 12br 104.
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7 Answers
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Teo12cite12br
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101. I don't know 11b10whether 12b10he will go with me.12br
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102. I don't know 11b10if 12b10he will go with me. 12br
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103. I don't know 11b10whether 12b10he will go with me 11b
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0Hi,02br
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00What is the difference between sentence 1 and sentence 3?02br
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001. I don't know whether he will go with me.02br
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003. I don't know whether he will go with me or not.02br
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00Also, what is the difference bet/ sentence 2 and 4?02br
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002. I don't know if he will go wit
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0 01font00Historically, there may have been a nuance of difference, but I believe they are all the same today (American).02font00 0-
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0I agree that (at least in American usage) there is little difference between "if" and "whether." Although you can subsitute in "if" for "whether" just about all the time (informally), but not "whether" for "if."02br
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00If you are trying to keep them straight for formal contexts:02br
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00If you are using "whether," make sure the sentence works with
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0The uses of "If" can be divided into two main categories:02br
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001. To introduce a clause of condition or supposition (= "on condition that", "given that", "granted that", "in (the) case that", "supposing that", or "on the supposition that"). 02br
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002. To introduce a noun-phrase that depends on a verb such as "see", "ask", "learn", "doubt", "know
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01cite10MrPedantic12cite10I'm surprised to see the suggestion that "if" in the sense of "whether" is somehow less "formal" than "whether". Perhaps someone should have told the translators who produced the King James Version of the Bible:11blockquote
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20"He sent forth a dove from him, to see if
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0Ah! 02br
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00Sorry, I misread it. 02br
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00I suppose people are more used to the spelling out of a second option, after "whether"; so the (otherwise redundant) "or not" acts as a dummy option, for comfort's sake. 02br
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00MrP0-
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