Could 'although' possibly make do?

This is a question in test# TOEIC/ W298:

  1. conj. if

(a) whereas
(b) whether
(c) although
(d) except

The given answer is (b)’ whether’. I wonder if (c)’ although’ could possibly be accepted.

I have looked up the dictionary and got an explanation of the conj. ’ if ’ as below:

[color=red]2. Although possibly; even though: It is a handsome if useless trinket.

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‘If’ connotes a condition or logic whereas ‘although’ questions the logic :slight_smile:

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if is ‘conditional’
although is ‘explanatory’

I may pass the exam IF I study-

I did not pass the exam, ALTHOUGH I studied-

does this help? :stuck_out_tongue:

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Hmm. The answer given as “correct” in this test is “whether”. Would you also say that “whether” is conditional?

The word “if” has a several possible usages, and therefore it also has a number of possible synonyms/meanings. The word “whether” is a good choice as one possible meaning for “if”. However “although” would also be a possible, if less common choice.
:wink:
dictionary.cambridge.org/define. … &dict=CALD
bartleby.com/61/50/I0025000.html

1 Like

Hmm. The answer given as “correct” in this test is “whether”. Would you also say that “whether” is conditional?

The word “if” has a several possible usages, and therefore it also has a number of possible synonyms/meanings. The word “whether” is a good choice as one possible meaning for “if”. However “although” would also be a possible, if less common choice.
:wink:
dictionary.cambridge.org/define. … &dict=CALD
bartleby.com/61/50/I0025000.html[/quote

I hear you Esl_Expert.
In this case, the issue is if whether I agree with you when replying to the specific answer questioned.

You say: 'The word ¨if¨has a several possible…
Dare I say the a does not belong in that sentence?
Be wee
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