Questions tagged [if-whether]

Given the widespread use of emoticons in electronic communication, an important question is [if / whether] they help internet users to understand emotions in online communication. Is the usage of "if" correct in this case?

If I WERE rich , I would buy a car. If more good NEWS WAS reported, we would feel more hopeful. For the former, because it is a hypothetical scenario, we bring 'were' instead of 'was' even though we have 'I'. But why we say 'news was' and not…

I'm a native German speaker, so forgive me if I use wrong words or wrong syntax. In a major news outlet today I read this headline: Time to decide if we want UN focused & effective or on the sidelines I wonder whether this should be: Time to…

"We can’t tell whether he did 'this' or 'that', or if he was on vacation." As far as I know, a "whether ... or" clause can typically be replaced by an "if"-clause, which is often just a matter of style. Now, considering the example sentence above,…