/ˈweð.ə/
Translation
Used to talk about a choice between two or more possibilities.
Word origin
From Old English hwaether, meaning which of two, related to who and what.
- Origin
- Old English
- Root
- hwaether
Examples
.
Here "whether" shows a choice: she is coming or she is not.
.
"Whether" joins the two possibilities you can choose from.
.
Here "whether" points to a choice between two actions.
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(4)Grammar articles
(25)British vs American grammar: have got, gotten, the team are, and the other quiet differences
Compound nouns in English: car park, coffee cup, and why GREENhouse is not green HOUSE
Dummy subjects in English: it's raining, there's a problem, and why the subject slot is never empty
Future continuous and future perfect in English: will be doing vs will have done
Future in the past: was going to, would, was about to, and the grammar of plans that failed
Future tense in English: will, going to and more explained
Indirect questions in English: Could you tell me where the station is, and the word order that goes with it
Nominalisation in English: arrive becomes arrival, decide becomes decision, and why written English turns actions into things
Participle clauses in English: -ing and -ed clauses, and the dangling participle trap
Past continuous tense: was and were plus -ing, and when to use it instead of the past simple
Phrasal-prepositional verbs: look forward to, put up with and the other three-part verbs
Phrasal verbs exercises: 80 questions with answers
Phrasal verbs in English: what they are, meanings, rules and examples
Present perfect continuous: have been doing, and how it differs from the present perfect
Present perfect tense: rules, examples and when to use it
Present simple tense: rules, examples and when to use it
Quantifiers in English: some, any, much, many and more
Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns in English: myself, yourself, each other, and when English does not bother
Relative clauses in English: defining, non-defining and when to drop the pronoun
Reported speech in English: backshift, questions and commands
The subjunctive and the unreal past in English: I suggest he go, if I were you, and it's time we left
English tenses explained: all 12 with a master table
Time clauses in English: when, while, as soon as, until, before and after
Used to, would and be used to: talking about past habits and states in English
Wish and if only in English: wish + past, wish + past perfect, wish + would, and why I wish I would is wrong
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueEnglish · Free printables
whether: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the English word "whether" (Used to talk about a choice between two or more possibilities.): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 17.