The words “if” and “whether” are both used to introduce indirect questions or to express doubt or uncertainty. However, there are some differences in their usage:
- Conditional vs. Choice: “If” is primarily used to introduce conditional clauses or to express a condition that must be met for something else to happen. It implies a cause-and-effect relationship or a condition that needs to be fulfilled. On the other hand, “whether” is used to introduce two or more alternatives or possibilities, often presenting a choice between them.
- Direct vs. Indirect: “If” is commonly used in direct questions and conditional statements, while “whether” is more frequently used in indirect questions and to introduce alternative possibilities.
- Embedded Clauses: “If” can be used in embedded clauses that express conditionality, such as “I will go if it stops raining.” In contrast, “whether” is not typically used in embedded clauses and is more commonly used to introduce standalone questions or alternative possibilities.
- Verb Clauses: “If” is often followed by a verb clause, such as “if he arrives early,” indicating a condition or possibility. “Whether,” on the other hand, is often followed by a noun clause or an infinitive phrase, such as “whether he will come” or “whether to go or stay,” expressing alternatives or choices.
In many cases, “if” and “whether” can be used interchangeably, especially in indirect questions. However, it’s worth noting that “whether” is often preferred when presenting two or more options or when the emphasis is on a choice between alternatives.
Here are some examples from the corpus given below where “if” can be interpreted as meaning “whether”:
- “I don’t know if I should go to the party.” – In this sentence, “if” is used to introduce the idea of uncertainty or doubt about whether the speaker should attend the party.
- “Please let me know if he will be coming tomorrow.” – Here, “if” is used to express the speaker’s request for information about whether or not the person will be coming the following day.
- “I‘m not sure if it will rain later.” – In this example, “if” introduces the notion of uncertainty regarding whether or not it will rain later.
- “Do you know if she has finished the report?” – Here, “if” is used to inquire about whether the person has completed the report.
- “He asked if they could meet next week.” – In this sentence, “if” introduces the question of whether it is possible to schedule a meeting the following week.
These examples demonstrate the usage of “if” as a way to express the meaning of “whether” or to introduce questions about particular conditions or possibilities.
RESEARCH NOTES:
How can we formally find ‘if’ meaning ‘whether’? Generally, the following infinitives will precede ‘if’:
((?:kn[eo]w|matter|seen?|saw|care|wonder|tell|told|remember|determine|mind)\w*) + if
A search in iWeb corpus:
1 I (PPIS1 ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 79855
2 I (PPIS1 ) DO (VD0) NT (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 35004
3 IT (PPH1 ) DOES (VDZ) N’T (XX) MATTER (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 15853
4 . (. ) LET (VV0) ME (PPIO1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 12707
5 IT (PPH1 ) DOES (VDZ) NT (XX) MATTER (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 8901
6 BE (VBI ) INTERESTING (JJ) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 7656
7 WOULD (VM ) LIKE (VVI) TO (TO) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 7527
8 I (PPIS1 ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) CARE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 7460
9 . (. ) I (PPIS1) WAS (VBDZ) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 6818
10 HOW (RRQ ) DO (VD0) YOU (PPY) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 6733
11 . (. ) (NULL) I (PPIS1) WONDER (VV0) IF (CSW@_CS) 6259
12 I (PPIS1 ) DO (VD0) NOT (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 5889
13 (NULL ) I (PPIS1) WAS (VBDZ) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 5071
14 HOW (RRQ ) DO (VD0) I (PPIS1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 4642
15 WE (PPIS2 ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 4479
16 . (. ) LET (VV0) US (PPIO2) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 4134
17 . (. ) DOES (VDZ) ANYONE (PN1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3928
18 I (PPIS1 ) WAS (VBDZ) JUST (RR) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 3888
19 I (PPIS1 ) DO (VD0) NT (XX) CARE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3785
20 . (. ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3768
21 (NULL ) LET (VV0) ME (PPIO1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3764
22 . (. ) DO (VD0) YOU (PPY) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3737
23 IT (PPH1 ) DOES (VDZ) NOT (XX) MATTER (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3669
24 . (. ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) WORRY (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3643
25 PLEASE (RR ) LET (VV0) ME (PPIO1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3597
26 (NULL ) DOES (VDZ) ANYONE (PN1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3572
27 I (PPIS1 ) WANT (VV0) TO (TO) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3435
28 , (, ) CHECK (VV0) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 3347
29 . (. ) I (PPIS1) ‘M (VBM) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 3302
30 , (, ) I (PPIS1) WAS (VBDZ) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 2912
31 AND (CC ) I (PPIS1) WAS (VBDZ) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 2839
32 DO (VD0 ) N’T (XX) EVEN (RR) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2813
33 TO (TO ) CHECK (VVI) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2791
34 . (. ) I (PPIS1) AM (VBM) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 2584
35 . (. ) CHECK (VV0) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2499
36 YOU (PPY ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2477
37 I (PPIS1 ) WANTED (VVD) TO (TO) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2393
38 I (PPIS1 ) WANTED (VVD) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2325
39 I (PPIS1 ) DID (VDD) N’T (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2233
40 , (, ) BUT (CCB) I (PPIS1) WONDER (VV0) IF (CSW@_CS) 2220
41 (NULL ) LET (VV0) US (PPIO2) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2204
42 HOW (RRQ ) CAN (VM) YOU (PPY) TELL (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2166
43 BUT (CCB ) I (PPIS1) WAS (VBDZ) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 2134
44 HOW (RRQ ) WOULD (VM) YOU (PPY) FEEL (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2118
45 WILL (VM ) LET (VVI) YOU (PPY) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2089
46 (NULL ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 2051
47 (NULL ) I (PPIS1) ‘M (VBM) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 1998
48 BE (VBI ) ABLE (JK) TO (TO) TELL (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1993
49 . (. ) DO (VD0) NT (XX) WORRY (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1987
50 (NULL ) CHECK (VV0) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1971
51 (NULL ) DO (VD0) YOU (PPY) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1928
52 I (PPIS1 ) CA (VM) N’T (XX) TELL (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1890
53 WE (PPIS2 ) DO (VD0) NT (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1846
54 ONLY (JJ ) TIME (NNT1) WILL (VM) TELL (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1818
55 JUST (RR ) WANT (VV0) TO (TO) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1801
56 HOW (RRQ ) CAN (VM) I (PPIS1) TELL (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1715
57 . (. ) DO (VD0) NOT (XX) USE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1705
58 ! (! ) LET (VV0) ME (PPIO1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1695
59 I (PPIS1 ) ‘M (VBM) JUST (RR) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 1694
60 IN (BCL21 ) ORDER (BCL22) TO (TO) DETERMINE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1680
61 YOU (PPY ) WANT (VV0) TO (TO) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1657
62 I (PPIS1 ) DU (VD0) N (XX) NO (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1649
63 I (PPIS1 ) CA (VM) N’T (XX) REMEMBER (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1624
64 ‘D (VM ) LIKE (VVI) TO (TO) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1617
65 (NULL ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) WORRY (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1579
66 YOU (PPY ) NEED (VV0) TO (TO) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1559
67 I (MC1_ZZ1 ) DO (VD0) NT (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1525
68 . (. ) LET (VM21) ‘S (VM22) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1519
69 , (, ) DO (VD0) YOU (PPY) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1496
70 THE (AT ) WAY (NN1) TO (TO) GO (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1485
71 PLEASE (RR ) LET (VV0) US (PPIO2) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1455
72 (NULL ) I (PPIS1) AM (VBM) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 1431
73 TO (TO ) WAIT (VVI) AND (CC) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1424
74 . (. ) WE (PPIS2) ‘LL (VM) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1403
75 I (PPIS1 ) HAVE (VH0) TO (TO) WONDER (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1403
76 AND (CC ) CHECK (VV0_NN1) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1389
77 , (, ) I (PPIS1) ‘M (VBM) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 1387
78 . (. ) DO (VD0) NT (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1381
79 NO (AT ) WAY (NN1) OF (IO) KNOWING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 1365
80 (NULL ) WHAT (DDQ) WOULD (VM) HAPPEN (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1359
81 BUT (CCB ) I (PPIS1) ‘M (VBM) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 1349
82 DO (VD0 ) NT (XX) EVEN (RR) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1347
83 , (, ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1335
84 WE (PPIS2 ) DO (VD0) NOT (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1322
85 AND (CC ) I (PPIS1) ‘M (VBM) WONDERING (VVG) IF (CSW@_CS) 1316
86 SO (CS@_RR ) YOU (PPY) CAN (VM) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1316
87 AND (CC ) LET (VV0) ME (PPIO1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1308
88 I (ZZ1_MC1 ) DO (VD0) NT (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1272
89 CAN (VM ) CHECK (VVI) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1270
90 YOU (PPY ) DO (VD0) NT (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1269
91 I (PPIS1 ) NEED (VV0) TO (TO) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1257
92 N’T (XX ) HELP (VVI) BUT (CCB) WONDER (VV0) IF (CSW@_CS) 1254
93 I (PPIS1 ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) MIND (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1201
94 BE (VBI ) ABLE (JK) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1199
95 HOW (RRQ ) WILL (VM) I (PPIS1) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1194
96 , (, ) JUST (RR) TO (TO) SEE (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1180
97 I (MC1_ZZ1 ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) KNOW (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1166
98 I (PPIS1 ) DO (VD0) N’T (XX) REMEMBER (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1137
99 . (. ) TIME (NNT1) WILL (VM) TELL (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS) 1134
100 YOU (PPY ) HAVE (VH0) TO (TO) WONDER (VVI) IF (CSW@_CS)