Spotlight - 14.2019

50 Spotlight 14/2019 THE GRAMMAR PAGE

THE GRAMMAR PAGE

“If ” and “whether”

ADRIAN DOFF presents and explains this key

point of grammar with notes on a short dialogue.

MEDIUM PLUS

Explanations

1. Use if or whether after phrases like “I don’t know...” to form
   an indirect question. (= Will she be here in time? I don’t
   know if she will be here in time.)


2. Here, too, you can use if or whether. They have the same
   meaning. (Laura could also say: “I wonder if...”)


3. After if or whether, you can add ...or not at the end of the sen-
   tence.


4. Here, if or whether is used in an embedded question: an indi-
   rect question that is itself part of a question. (= Can we leave
   the ticket...? Do you know?)


5. Here, if or whether is used in a reported question (a question
   that was asked in the past and is reported by someone later).
   Helen’s actual question was: “Can I come with you?”


6. After whether, you can use “to” + infinitive (“whether to
   wait...”). In the present example, whether must be used. (You
   can’t say: “if to wait...”.)


7. Here, Laura uses the phrase whether or not... It means:
   “It doesn’t matter whether Helen shows up or does not show
   up.”


8. This is another example of whether followed by “to” +
   infinitive.

Dialogue

Jenny and Laura are standing outside the cinema, waiting

for their friend Helen.

Jenny: The film starts in five minutes. I don’t know if^1

Helen will be here in time. She always takes ages

to get ready.

Laura: I wonder whether^2 she missed the train.

Jenny: I don’t know. I sent her a text, but I don’t know

whether^3 she has her phone switched on or not^3.

It’s really annoying. I bought a ticket for her, too.

Laura: Do you know whether^4 we can leave the ticket at

the box office for her?

Jenny: We could ask them. She always does this. She

asked me if^5 she could come with us, and I said

“yes” — and now she’s not here. I don’t know

whether to^6 wait for her or just go in.

Laura: Well, I’m going in now. I want to see the film,

whether or not^7 Helen shows up.

Jenny: Yeah, me too. ... Ah, there she is.

Helen: Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t decide whether to^8 wear

a coat or not, so I was a bit late leaving.

Remember!

If or whether is used...

1. in indirect questions:
   ⋅ I wonder if it’s going to rain.
   ⋅ I’m not sure whether we have met before or not.


2. in embedded questions (an indirect question within a ques-
   tion):
   ⋅ Do you know if she works here?


3. in reported questions (in the past):
   ⋅ He asked me whether I was a student.
   ⋅ They wanted to know if I’d drunk any alcohol.
   In all these cases, the normal word order is used after if or
   whether:
   ⋅ He asked me if I was a student.
   You should not say: “He asked me was I a student.”

Beyond the basics

You can use only whether (not if)...

1. before “to” + infinitive:
   ⋅ I didn’t know whether to say anything.


2. in the expression whether or not:
   ⋅ I’ll carry on working, whether or not they pay me. (= if they
   pay me, or if they don’t pay me)

ages: take ~ [(eIdZIz]

, ewig dauern; hier:

ewig brauchen

embedded [Im(bedId]

, eingebettet

text (message) [tekst]

, SMS

Would you like to practise

deciding if it’s “if” or whether it’s

“whether”? You’ll find

exercises in Spotlight plus:

spotlight-online.de/

spotlight-plus