Whether … or not?
It’s often difficult to tell whether to use the phrase ‘or not’ after ‘whether’ when you’re setting out a choice between two alternatives.
TL;DR
Although we’re often taught that ‘or not’ is a natural follow on to ‘whether’, this isn’t entirely true. There are times when it’s appropriate and times when it’s not.
As with many other conventions in the English language, there’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to ‘whether or not’. More often than not, the ‘or not’ is optional. But that’s not always the case.
One
‘Whether’ comes from ‘which’ and ‘either of two’. So, by using ‘whether’, we are setting up a scenario in which there is a choice to be made. Where that choice is between alternatives related to a single element or ‘thing’, the or not is usually implied and can be left out. For example:
“I can’t decide whether I like ice-cream.”
Here, the first choice is liking ice-cream, while the second is the alternative (not liking ice-cream). There are only two possible choices here (liking/disliking), so it’s unnecessary to include ‘or not’ because we can easily draw the conclusion about what the second one is.
A simple rule of thumb is that ‘weather’ can stand alone when the clause it’s in functions as a noun. For example:
“Her decision to go to the mall will depend on whether her car is running.”
The ‘whether’ clause is the object of ‘on’ and functions as a noun, so there’s no need to have ‘or not’.
Or the other
In instances where you mean ‘regardless of whether’, you always need the ‘or not’. For example:
“Whether she ever wins the pageant again, Candy has cemented her image as one of the greatest beauty queens of all time.”
The ‘whether’ that’s used to open this sentence could be replaced with ‘regardless of whether’ because Candy’s image has been locked in and nothing can change that.
If the ‘whether’ phrase acts as an adverb (modifies the verb), you’ll also have to use the ‘or not’. For example:
“She will go to the mall tomorrow whether or not it rains.”
In this case, the clause modifies the verb phrase ‘go to’ and therefore requires an ‘or not’.
TL;DR
- “Whether” can usually be used on its own
- If you’re using whether to mean “regardless of whether”, you need the “or not”
- If the “whether” clause modifies a verb, you need “or not”
Featured image courtesy of Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash
