{"id":14469,"date":"2020-09-02T12:35:40","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T10:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=14469"},"modified":"2020-09-02T12:35:48","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T10:35:48","slug":"if-and-whether","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/09\/if-and-whether\/","title":{"rendered":"If and Whether"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Informally, <strong>if <\/strong>and<strong> whether<\/strong> can be interchanged. However, in formal writing, it pays to know the distinct uses of each. As a general rule, use <strong>if<\/strong> in conditional sentences. Use <strong>Whether<\/strong>\u00a0to present two possible alternatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Uses of If and When<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>We can use <strong>If <\/strong>and<strong> Whether<\/strong> in indirect questions. Use<strong>\u00a0if\u00a0<\/strong>or<strong>\u00a0whether\u00a0<\/strong>for indirect\u00a0yes-no\u00a0questions and\u00a0questions with\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong>. <strong>If<\/strong>\u00a0is more commonly used than\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Call the parents and find out\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0any of them can volunteer for the cleanup drive.<\/p><p>I talked to him and asked\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0he&#8217;d take a taxi or\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0he\u2019d drive from the airport.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>With <strong>or<\/strong>, it is more common to use\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0especially when two or more alternatives in the indirect question are available.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>After the class, the students asked\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0they should take an exam, make a book report,\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong>\u00a0both.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In more formal context, we use\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The suspect will be asked\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0he would confess to his crime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>From a business meeting, notice <strong>whether<\/strong> being used.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Carrie read an article that she\u2019d written and the executives decided\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0it should be published.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use <strong>or not<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong> when talking about an alternative. Put\u00a0<strong>or not<\/strong>\u00a0immediately after\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0or at the end. With <strong>if<\/strong>, only use <strong>or not<\/strong>\u00a0in end position.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>They texted Michelle to confirm\u00a0<strong>whether or not<\/strong>\u00a0she really got sick.<\/p><p>I texted Chase to confirm\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0he really got sick\u00a0<strong>or not<\/strong>.<\/p><p>He texted Angel to find out\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0she really got sick\u00a0<strong>or not<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>To introduce clauses that comes after verbs that express doubts, use\u00a0<strong>if\u00a0<\/strong>or<strong>\u00a0whether<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>She isn&#8217;t sure\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0she can sleep. She&#8217;s too excited.<\/p><p>I didn\u2019t study properly so I doubt\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0I&#8217;m going to pass the test.<\/p><p>We&#8217;re not sure\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0we\u2019ll be able to call you from the village.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Uses of Whether<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>To talk about future plans or decisions, use\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0before a\u00a0to-infinitive.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>She was thinking\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">to study<\/span> English abroad.<\/p><p>Some household chores, such as cleaning, need to be done by every member. Others, such as\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">to iron<\/span> clothes, can only be done by just one person.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0after prepositions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Correct: I don&#8217;t think she worries about\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0you are happy or not.<\/p><p><em>Incorrect: I don&#8217;t think she worries about\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0you are happy or not.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Common Mistakes in Using If and Whether<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Using <strong>if<\/strong> before a to-infinitive<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Correct: He doesn\u2019t know\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0to save his money or just save it.<\/p><p><em>Incorrect: He doesn&#8217;t know <strong>if<\/strong> to save his money or just save it.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Using <strong>if<\/strong> directly before\u00a0<strong>or not<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Correct: Can you tell me\u00a0<strong>whether or not<\/strong>\u00a0you are available for an interview?<\/p><p><em>Incorrect: Can you tell me\u00a0<strong>if or not<\/strong>\u00a0you are available for an interview?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Using\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong> after prepositions<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>[talking about a trip to Australia for a year]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Correct: They are not sure about\u00a0<strong>whether<\/strong>\u00a0they get good jobs after graduation. They just want to finish their degrees as soon as possible.<\/p><p><em>Incorrect: They are not sure about\u00a0<strong>if<\/strong>\u00a0they get good jobs after graduation. They just want to finish their degrees as soon as possible.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Informally, if and whether can be interchanged. However, in formal writing, it pays to know the distinct uses of each. As a general rule, use if in conditional sentences. Use Whether\u00a0to present two possible alternatives. Uses of If and When We can use If and Whether in indirect questions. Use\u00a0if\u00a0or\u00a0whether\u00a0for indirect\u00a0yes-no\u00a0questions and\u00a0questions with\u00a0or. If\u00a0is more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>If and Whether | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/09\/if-and-whether\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If and Whether | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Informally, if and whether can be interchanged. However, in formal writing, it pays to know the distinct uses of each. As a general rule, use if in conditional sentences. Use Whether\u00a0to present two possible alternatives. Uses of If and When We can use If and Whether in indirect questions. Use\u00a0if\u00a0or\u00a0whether\u00a0for indirect\u00a0yes-no\u00a0questions and\u00a0questions with\u00a0or. 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