When Describing Uncertainty About a Choice

rogersgeorge on August 10th, 2023

When you start a sentence with “I’m not sure,” don’t use “if”! If you don’t mention both choices, use “whether,” which lets you assume an “or not.” For example, say “I don’t know whether I’m really sick.” But you are more clear to use “whether” and the choices you’re uncertain about. “I’m not sure whether I’m sick or not.” Another example: “I’m not sure whether it’s day or night” is an okay sentence when you’re uncertain about what time of day it is.

First panel. He should say “see whether the bleeding has stopped.”

If you say “I’m not sure if I’m sick” can mean you can’t feel certain about something when you are sick. “If” regulates the existence of what you’re talking about, not the choice you have. But you can use “if” if you mention the choices with an “if” for each. See the comic:

Leave a Reply

You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*