Tuesday, 27 October 2020

Common errors in English: Usage of Whether.

Whether


Incorrect : I could not decide if to go there. 


Correct : I could not decide whether to go there.


Incorrect : It depends on if he is ready or not. 


Correct : It depends on whether he is ready or not.


Incorrect : It is your decision if you go or stay. 


Correct : It is your decision whether you go or stay.


Incorrect : I asked him if he was coming or not. 


Correct : I asked him whether he was coming or not. Or I asked him whether or not he was coming.


Note: “If” and “whether" are sometimes interchangeable. 


For example, we can say:

He asked me if/whether she was coming.


But we must use only 'whether' before infinitives, after prepositions, after nouns and with "or not". In these cases “whether' cannot be replaced by “if”.