Whether (conditional clause with OR required) acts as an adverbial phrase meaning "in any case": Whether you find a dragon or a unicorn, you will be scared. (depending on context, this tends to imply you will certainly find one or the other) Whether or not you find a dragon, you will be scared. You will be scared whether or not you find a dragon.

If and whether are nowadays usually considered subordinators. Though their usages overlap, they are not totally interchangeable: Ask him whether/if I can come. ['if' more colloquial] ['or not' may be faintly implied]..... If/*Whether he is really a policeman, I'm a Chinaman. I will come if / * whether she is going to be there.

The phrase whether or not is a condition, used in statements to show that something will or will not happen, regardless of certain other variables: I'm going to go on strike whether or not anyone joins me! This would be less correct, however, if used like this: I don't care whether or not anyone joins me, I'm going on strike!

May 13, 2014 · 'Whether' shows alternatives for example 'Whether it rains or not, we will go on a trip.' whereas 'Rather' shows preference for eg. 'I'd rather do this instead of that'. So the sentences you mentioned here should use 'whether' rather than 'rather'.

Sep 14, 2018 · 'Whether' implies more than one alternative (e.g. 'whether the day is wet or fine') so the addition 'or not' is understood even if it isn't included. Most people would understand both your sentences in the same way, but, as H2ONaCl implies, the first one is literally asking for a reply only if you picked up the right file, the second asks for ...

Aug 8, 2011 · Whether they are either close or remote homologs is asking , or in context leaving the question open, if they are related: a computer would see this as a yes/no question (assuming that there is no third category of relationships). As written, it is halfway between the two.

I’m thinking a 'whether' clause with a negative sentence means the speaker thinks the situation is less likely. However, I can’t find any explanation in dictionaries at hand. For example: He snap...

For example "I want to consider all people, irrespective of their gender", or "I want to consider all people, irrespective of whether they are men or women." As a counterexample, consider "Everyone boarded the lifeboats regardless of gender", implying that gender should have been considered but was not. –

Jun 6, 2012 · (1) In this question on math.SE a question about the meaning of 'either' before a list which ends with 'and'. The meaning of either a, b, c, or d is from this answer sort of clear in that it means...

2 days ago · 'Hmmm' indeed. I started by examining my own thoughts on the difference and this is what I came up with. Attempting to find a source confirmed that many others hold roughly the same idea about the difference between the two, but I couldn't find an academic source. Now both words sound silly and meaningless to me, so I need to take a break.