Question about "whether" and "if".
In spoken English
Here is an example:
"I don't care if your card breaks downs or not ?"
Q1: Can this "if" be "whether" ?
Q2: Is this "or not" neccessary? Can I just omit it ?
Q3: Are they interchangeable?
Thanks in advance.Sorry, I have typed a wrong word, in that example, "card" should be "car".
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 4
1
Whether or If:
1. When both choices are given, we generally use whether rather than if:
I don't know whether she's coming or not. (It would be possible to use if here, but less common.)
2. Before an infinitive with to we use whether:
I don't know whether to accept their offer or not. (If would not be used here.)
3. We can use whether after a preposition:
It's a question of whether we can agree on everything. (If would not be used here.)
4. Both whether and if can be used in indirect speech to introduce a yes/no question:
Did they say whether/if they were going to be late?
5. After some verbs, we use whether:
I doubt whether they'll make it.
We discussed whether it was the correct decision.
Generally, whether is considered more formal than if.
Hope this helps :)
1
Yes, they are interchangeable in your sentences. No, you do not have to include 'or not' in the sentence with 'if' only if you use 'whether'.. Good questions!
I don't care whether your car breaks down or not.
I don't care if your car breaks down.
I won't care if your car breaks down.
0
Whether ... or .... This is the form.
If .... [then] .... [] means optional.
0
Sorry, I have typed a wrong word, in that example, "card" should be "car".
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