Learn English – Using “Whether” or “Whether or not”

whetherword-usage

I read the information about using whether or whether or not on your web site; however, I am still not certain about making the choice. Could you please tell me the specific rules for using whether or whether or not?

Is this sentence okay?

You can go whether or not you finished your homework.

Best Answer

Bryan Garner, Garner's Modern American Usage, second edition (2003) answers this question in a consistent way that is easy to apply to particular instances of "whether (or not)":

Whether or not. Despite the superstition to the contrary, the words or not are usually superfluous, since whether implies or not—e.g.,:

  • "In another essay, 'The Rules of the Game,' he discusses moral codes and whether or not {read whether} they work." Diane Hartman, "At Life's End Carl Sagan Awed by Life's Unknowns," Denver Post, 22 June 1997, at D6. [Other examples—involving "deciding whether (or not)" and "decide whether (or not)"—omitted.]

But the or not is necessary when whether or not means"regardless of whether" {the meeting will go on whether or not it rains}. [Other examples omitted.]

By Garner's reasoning, you don't need or not in this sentence:

You can decide whether to go once you've finished your homework.

but you do need it in your original sentence:

You can go whether or not you finished your homework.

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