Whether or not to use whether or not

If you want to know whether your language skills are up to snuff, ask yourself: Are the words “whether” and “if” are both used correctly in the first part of this sentence? Are they interchangeable? What exactly is the difference between the two?

If you answered, “I dunno,” “Duh,” or, “I must’ve missed that lecture,” I have good news. This alone does not mean that your language skills are sub par. On the contrary, a lot of language experts don’t know the answer to this one. It’s even conceivable that certain language columnists might have to look it up before venturing to write a column about it. (Hypothetically speaking.) If, on the other hand, you answered, “pickled ginger,” “the hypotenuse” or “A-Rod,” then I’m afraid it is possible that your communication-related insecurities are well-founded.

For the rest of us, here’s some insight from the most helpful reference book I could find.

“It’s good editorial practice,” writes Bryan Garner of Garner’s Modern American Usage, “to distinguish between these words.” He goes on to do just that.

“‘Let me know if you’ll be coming’ means that I want to hear from you only if you’re coming. But ‘Let me know whether you’ll be coming’ means that I want to hear from you about your plans one way or the other.”

In other, less clear words, “if” is for “conditional ideas” whereas “whether” is for alternatives and possibilities.

That’s a good distinction -- as good a place as any to draw the line between these two words -- but only if you first accept Garner’s thesis that it’s good editorial practice to distinguish between the two. That’s the part I find highly questionable. The minute you declare yourself in a position to narrow down the use of two words, you’re contradicting other authorities. And you’re also labeling as “wrong” uses that are both customary and very defensible.

The dictionary definitions of these two words make it clear that there is no such line in the sand.

Webster’s New World College Dictionary does mention that “whether” has to do with alternatives, such as, “whether he drives or (whether he) flies, he’ll be on time.” Webster’s adds, “Sometimes, the second is merely implied or understood, ‘We don’t know whether he’ll improve (or not).’” But that’s Webster’s second definition of “whether,” not the first. Webster’s first definition of “whether” sounds a lot like Garner’s definition of “if.”: “if it be the case or fact that.”

What’s worse, Webster’s gives three definitions for the conjunction “if.” And definition No. 3 is “whether.”

So clearly, Garner’s drawing a line in the sand between these two will only muddy the waters and give grammar bullies ammo to label perfectly defensible uses as “wrong.”

Of course, any native speaker knows that “whether” and “if” aren’t completely interchangeable. “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t really mean the same thing if you replace the “if” with a whether. Or consider answering, “Do you want Thai food?” with, “Sure. If you do.” Changing that “if” to “whether” wouldn’t make any sense at all.

But you didn’t need a language scholar to tell you that anymore than you need them to tell you that adding “or not” to “whether” is often redundant.

“Generally use ‘whether’ alone -- not with the words ‘or not’ tacked on,” the Chicago Manual of Style says. “The ‘or not’ is necessary only when you mean to convey the idea of ‘regardless of whether.’ ‘We’ll finish on time whether or not it rains.’” Garner, who helped write the Chicago Manual, says pretty much the exact same thing.

Whether or not experts continue to try to confuse us, you can trust your instincts on these two words if and only if you have a basic grasp of the difference between conjunctions and pickled ginger.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE is a freelance writer. She can be reached at JuneTCN@aol.com.

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