English Dictionary
Definition whether in British English
whether
conjunction
What are red words?
Around 90% of spoken and written English relies on just 7,500 common words.
These words are highlighted in red and are ranked using a star system.
- One-star words are commonly used
- Two-star words are even more common
- Three-star words are the most frequently used
conjunction
What are red words?
Around 90% of spoken and written English relies on just 7,500 common words.These words are highlighted in red and are ranked using a star system.
- One-star words are commonly used
- Two-star words are even more common
- Three-star words are the most frequently used
Notice the spelling of the conjunction whether, and don’t confuse it with the noun weather, which sounds exactly the same.
✗ It does not matter wheather one is an optimist or a pessimist.
✓ It does not matter whether one is an optimist or a pessimist.
✗ The question is wether there is still a place for imagination in the world.
✓ The question is whether there is still a place for imagination in the world.
✗ … the issue of weather criminals need retribution or rehabilitation.
✓ … the issue of whether criminals need retribution or rehabilitation.
Both whether and if can be used to introduce indirect questions of the type that expect a ‘yes/no’ answer: She asked if/whether I liked jazz.
Use whether, but not if, before an infinitive: She can’t decide whether to marry him.
Use whether, but not if, after a preposition: There are doubts about whether the system is safe.
Use whether, but not if, immediately before ‘or not’: The question is whether or not the government has the right to interfere.
Whether is generally preferred when ‘or’ appears later in the sentence, but you can also use if: It is not clear whether/if the information was stolen or deliberately leaked to the press.
used when someone does not know which of two possibilities is true
There is some doubt as to whether the illness is infectious.
used when someone can choose between two possibilities
