Unit 3: If or whether?
Pronunciation: Changing sounds
Select a unit
- 1 Go beyond intermediate with our new video course
- 2 Reported speech in 90 seconds!
- 3 If or whether?
- 4 5 ways to use 'would'
- 5 Let and allow
- 6 Passive voice
- 7 Unless
- 8 Mixed conditionals
- 9 The zero article - in 90 seconds
- 10 The indefinite article - in 90 seconds
- 11 The. That's right - the! Learn all about it in 90 seconds
- 12 The continuous passive
- 13 Future perfect
- 14 Need + verb-ing
- 15 Have something done
- 16 Wish
- 17 Word stress
- 18 Different ways of saying 'if'
- 19 Passive reporting structures
- 20 The subjunctive
- 21 When and if
- 22 Inversion
- 23 Phrasal verbs
- 24 The future
- 25 Modals in the past
- 26 Narrative tenses
- 27 Phrasal verb myths
- 28 Conditionals review
- 29 Used to - review
- 30 Linking words of contrast
Grammar Reference
If and whether - for when we have two choices
Often the words if and whether can be used interchangeably, but one difference is that we use whether when we have two clear choices. Compare these:
1) I don't know if Finn wants tea or coffee. (It's possible Finn wants something else)
2) I don't know whether Finn wants tea or coffee. (These are the only two possibilities)
If and whether in indirect questions
Meaning and use
There are two ways to ask questions in English – directly and indirectly. Both have the same meaning, but we use indirect questions if we want to sound more formal or polite, especially when we are talking to people we don’t know.
We can use if and whether like this - notice how the word order changes:
(Direct question) - Is the coffee for everyone?
(Indirect question) - Could you tell me if the coffee is for everyone?
Form
Indirect questions have the same word order as statements:
introductory phrase + if or whether + subject + verb
(Direct question) - Is the meeting at two?
(Indirect question) - Do you know if the meeting is at two?