If vs. whether

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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Hi Alan,

As far as I know IF & WHETHER can be used interchangeably. But according to Practical English Usage (Michel Swan), certain verbs are followed by whether only (not by if) e.g. discuss. Can you enlighten me about those verbs.

Souba73

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Hi Torsten, I have gone through the link. Only the subtle nuances of meaning of ‘if’ & ‘whether’ have been discussed there, which does not deal with my query.

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Hi Torsten, this is the same link as you have referred earlier.

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It’s the same topic but a different post: In informal writing, both if and whether are standard for introducing a clause indicating uncertainty after a verb such as ask, doubt, know, learn, or see: We shall soon learn whether (or if) it is true. In such contexts, however, the use of if can sometimes create ambiguities. Depending on the intended meaning, the sentence Let her know if she is invited might be better paraphrased as Let her know whether she is invited or If she is invited, let her know.

TOEIC listening, photographs: In the kitchen

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***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Souba:

You have already received some excellent answers.

I found some info that may interest you. It comes from a book written by two scholars.

  1. Some scholars believe that “if” marks true yes-no questions; “whether” implies the existence of alternatives.
    That is, when there is a CHOICE.

a. Margaret asked ____ I preferred Mexican or Greek food.
(“Whether” would be preferable because there is a choice.)

  1. Peter came into the room and asked me ____ I knew what time it was.

a. Which word would you use?

i. The scholars suggest that “if” should be used because it seems to be a true yes-no question (there are no alternatives).

ii. The scholars feel that the use of “whether” would imply some sarcasm on the part of Peter. That is, I should know the time because Peter and I had an important date in ten minutes.

James

Credit to: Mesdames Marianne Celce-Murcia and Diane Larsen-Freeman in their THE GRAMMAR BOOK / AN ESL / EFL TEACHER’S COURSE (1983 edition), pages 466 and 609.

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There are situations in which ‘whether’ can’t be used.
'If it rains tomorrow, we won’t go.

Right now I can’t think of a situation in which only ‘whether’ can be used,
but sometimes ‘whether’ seems preferable.
‘Whether they will be happy or not, that’s the best we can do.’

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That’s precisely it. ‘Whether’ does not introduce a condition or a singular possibility but two possibilities.

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Hi Everybody,

Thank you very much for all your posts. I shall be grateful to all of you if you post more informative comments on the topics.

Souba73