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Grammar: How to use IF & WHETHER properly
Learn how to useif and whether properly in English. Whether you like it or not, if and whether are not always interchangeable. In fact, if you use the wrong word, it can change the entire meaning of your sentence. In this lesson, we will review the uses of the two words and see how to use them in a way that will reduce confusion and clarify your ideas. How can you be sure whether to use if or whether in the proper context? Watch the lesson, and find out!
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.Levels
Lesson Topics
446 COMMENTS
Great Lesson Adam!
Thanks!
Jesus Loves you!
:D
Good job mr Adam ♡Nice lesson
I like u whether u like it or not ;) haha Lol
hey how are you ? wanna be my friend okay ?
the quiz isn’t working ? is it?
It’s working well
Putting into practice what you have just learned, eh? Good for you Rena! It seems to me that Adam has no other option.
Bye for now.
:)
hello,, firstly , i,d like to give you my compliments to teach such a good lesson ,, :) ,, but it was difficult to understand to me, however i got it, even a little ,, :D , could you please explain me again number 7,, its complicated for me,
hahahha good one , if you take it Positively :D
Hey! It seems like you are no longer available on Facebook with that name you have on your profile so maybe you should show another way round to connect with you.
Let’s talk. ???
Very useful lesson!
:D
Thank you Adam for your useful lesson. I am in doubt, nonetheless. “6. I wonder if Tom will come to the party.” I was absolutely inaccurate in this case. Although the right answer was “both are correct”, I’d rather disagree because I was taught that we should avoid to use “if” with “will”. Thus the right answer had to be “whether” from my point of view. Could you explain this issue for me?
Hi Gosha,
You are confusing ‘if’ as a noun clause conjunction with ‘if’ used as a conditional clause conjunction. If you will study hard, you can pass the test– this sentence is incorrect because you can’t use if+will. But when used as a noun clause (to show option) it is ok.
Does this help?
Hi, Adam.
1) What’s the right for your example – “If you study hard, you will pass the test.” – That is?
2) About N 6: I don’t understand the meaning – “I wonder whether Tom will come”… It means I wonder in any case? – he will come/he will not come/ he will die/ he will will sleep / …. , anyway I wonder ???
Sorry, I meant (N 6) – Tom will come or Tom won’t come – in both case I wonder ??
I had the same question until I opened dictionary and understood:
“I wonder” in this case is not “be surprised”, “I wonder” = “I ask myself”
or “I’m interested”.
So I wonder whether Tom will come to the party OR NOT COME – is correctly.
Hi Vev,
I’m not sure if you had the same issue as Ranger, in which wonder means be curious or ask myself. So I wonder if he will come, means I am not sure and am curious whether he will come or not.
1 is correct ;)
I understand. Thank you!
I understand now
1- yes
2- I am curious to find out if he will come or not
Hello.
I think you should make a video of a minute or less, and make this conditional clause conjunction and noun clause conjunction thing more clear regarding the use of ‘IF’.
Oh God! I was terrible in this quiz.I`ve just got 5 correct out of 10. I will have to study this lesson again and again and again
Very useful thank you :)
Great lesson! Thank you, Adam :)
could we speak in english in private
Prof. Adam,
very nice lesson indeed. thank you kindly.H
Thank you Adan!!
Your lessons have helped me a lot.
this was the first teacher I know on engvid website, and now I can realize my improviment.
I cannot say thank you enough!!
“Adam” :p
Thank you, Adam! You make english grammar easier,
Aren’t the questions 6 and 10 the same case?
Why are the question 6 both if and whether and the 10 only whether?
I think that I’ve found the answer:
“We use whether and not if after prepositions” (Cambridge Dictionary Online)
Is that really the case?
Hi Samuael,
The preposition is part of the story, but the main idea is that in sentence 10, the ‘or not’ is understood and therefore not mentioned. But the idea of it is there. ‘depends on’ here, suggests that you will progress, but the speed will depend on A (try hard) or B (not try hard). If we used ‘if’ the idea would be that you wouldn’t progress at all, but we already know you will progress.
Does this help?
hello adam I’ve got 7 to 10 on your lesson about if and whether is right?
sir, IS there any logical reason behind using whether after preposition ?
I’m still having a hard time trying to “see” that difference in the question number 10. About number 6, does it change the meaning of the sentence the choice between “if” or whether?
Tanks a million Mr Adam.it was great
Great Lesson Adam!
Thanks!
Jesus Loves you!
:D
Both correct but whether more better to use:p
Thank you
Thank you very much. Now I know they are not completely the same thank to you :)) “You are handsome whether people notice or not!” Am I correct? :)))
If you say so Sebert ;)
Adam. As usual great lesson. It’s very useful study pair words. Often I think about it. I mean, when to use this word, or when use that word.Thank You.
Thanks alot mr Adam.You gave us a very very prasious and useful lessonAnd I hope you will always give us this type of lesson so once again thanks alot and a bundle of thanks
what is nounphrase
I think this: for example, we have a structure: “to say to someone”, someone in this case is used as a noun. So when you say: “He said to his teacher that he couldn’t come.” According to the structure, you can see “someone” is “his teacher” in the sentence. So it’s a NOUN PHRASE. Because “his teacher” isn’t a noun, it’s a phrase but it’s used as a noun so it’s called noun phrase. Hope i am correct :)))
Hi Mani,
Sebert was close. A noun phrase is a phrase with a noun as the main focus and modifyers used to identify or describe the noun:
the boy in my son’s second-grade class–this is a noun phrase with the boy being the main noun. The other parts identify which boy.
Does this help?
Thank you!
Thanks ! :-)
Thank v much “Adam Sir”, awesome straightforward explanation,. :) .
5/10 Ugh… I understood the lesson, the concept, but when comes the moment to chose between one or the other the sentences let me very confused. Anyway for me “if” in the majority of the cases and “whether” when is possible two alternatives. Thank you Adam.
I got 80%
Thanks Adam
Thanks a lot Mr.Adam. You’re doing a great job as usual very useful lessons.
The way you teach is amazing. Keep up the good work.
Good lesson very usefull! Thanks!
I got a little question, hope it won’t bother you!
I know it’s not the topic but when you say for instance ” my key fell out of my pocket” Could you put “from” instead of “of”?
My key fell out From my pocket!
Thanks very much
Hi, there! I’m not a native speaker, but the two sentences have a different meaning for me. “My key fell out of my pocket” means it didn’t get in when you tried to put it in you pocket. In the other hand, “My key fell out from my pocket” means the key was inside your pocket but it fell out. Hope it helps
Hi Klownerz,
Both can mean the same thing, but I would say the key fell from my pocket, without the ‘out’. The ‘from’ includes the ‘out’.
I don’t know why i felt that you were not energetic as always while explaining this lesson,Adam.:-/
Anyways,Thanks a lot for one more useful lesson :)
Take care :)
well, I think he is human, people don’t have to be always energetic or happy. And what is important, is that he is always willing to help others to learn.
Yes,you are absolutely right iconica15.i agree with you.I always appreciate his kind cooperation and willingness to help us.He is the best teacher ever for us.I think this feelings come spontaneously when we care and love that person a lot and the same thing goes with Adam :)Take care.
Thank you for your response Tejalkk, take care you too.
I don’t agree with either of you :-)
As any other teacher on engVid, Adam does his job in an unbiased way. Maybe I can agree that each of them has their “style” of teaching or entertaining, but perfection doesn’t exist.
Happy week start, guys! :-)
Hi Antonella, I appreciate your comment, definitely Adam has a great style :).
I do appreciate your view,it is true that all engvid teachers have fantastic and unique teaching style due to which it has become interesting learning english:)
Have a great week ahead to you all guys and take care :-)
well said!!!
:) perhaps you’re right Tejalkk. I think I filmed that one pretty late. I’ll be better in future :)
Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to consider my comment,Adam :-)
I got 10 at the second try. =)
“I’m coming over, whether you like or not…” :-)
Oohhh :-O
That sounds–a little–insolent and haughty… Try and see what happens. If you like it… (You might regret it!) Ha ha ha.
Hey, teacher Adam, even if can’t believe it, I got 9 answers correct out of 10.
Anyway, please explain better to me the last sentence:
“How quickly you progress depends mostly on ______ you try hard.”
Why does this sentence accept both if and whether? I chose if because I think one has no option to progress if he doesn’t try hard (condition), at least a little.
Thanks :-)
I think in this case whether is replacing the word “regardless”. I don’t think “if” can do this function.
Thank you, Carolina ;-)
Your explanation makes sense.
Hello everybody , hello Antonella
I try to give my explaination to the sentence you mentioned earlier .
The beginning of the sentence is ‘how’ and this interrogation expects to possibilities so ‘wether ‘ seems the good option . . If you work hard you will progess or if you don’t work with enough assiduity you won’t quickly progess . You just can say ‘ wether you try hard or not ‘ .’ Wether’ can’t be replaced by ‘ regardless ‘ in that case . Hope that helps .
Wow, tsamp! Your explanation is powerful.
Thanks! :-)
To be honest, I don’t remember now what I chose! Ha ha ha, poor me.
I would now use ‘whether’ because it sounds better, but let’s leave out such hyperbolic doubts. I have more important things to think about in life.
Thanks again :-)
Your welcome, hopefully I’m right, otherwise I’d appreciate some corrections.
According to the Macmillan Dictionary, after “the preposition” you have to put “whether” instead of “if”: << There are doubts about whether the system is safe.
That’s true too Alessandro, but it’s also about the idea of how quickly you will progress, not if you will progress or not.
Good point taken though :)
Thank you Adam very very much, your explanation is very important because on Macmillan there isn’t it or, maybe, I haven’t realized again the explanation on Mac. In every case, thank you again. You are a great teacher as always!
Hi Antonella,
Actually, I think it only accepts whether for #10. The question isn’t whether you will progress or not. You will progress. The question is how quickly, so the speed depends on whether you try hard or not, and the ‘or not’ is understood so not written.
Does this help?
Thanks, Adam.
I checked again that sentence by retaking the test and you are right :)
Precisely, the question is ‘if you try hard you’ll progress quickly if not you won’t progress so quickly’. So the question is ‘if you do something or not’ = ‘whether you do something or not’ ( no need to write ).
Two things/choices, one or another.
#3. Why not the red one, the dark one and so on? Because the answer could be :’ Neither of them, he took the yellow one’.
What is my mistake?
To me, the last sentence doesn’t convey “Regardless”. It is actually giving two options in which “or not” is dropped.
Very usefull information. At extra classes we learnt about if|whether, but they didn’t explain the differences between them, so I just want to thank you Adam.
thanks you adam
Thanks MR :Adam
All needed! Thank you so much! :))
… I will give money back to you as soon as I can whether today or tomorrow. ^.^
( I wonder if my sentence is correct ? or
( I wonder whether my sentence is correct? and
( I wonder whether someone could answer me, please.)
Thank you, Adam for this interesting lesson.
“I will give you your money back as soon as I can, (be it) today or tomorrow (at the latest)”
Hi Mauro,
You are nice. I am very glad to have your answer; plus, I have just learnt one sentence from you.
Thanks for your feed back. My best to you.
Hi Chloe,
Mauro gave a good answer. Actually, when you are in doubt about a structure, just use a different one that you are sure of.
I will give the money back to you as soon as I can whether today or tomorrow.– in this case, say either as soon as I can OR either today or tomorrow. Saying both is redundant.
I wonder whether/if my sentence… both ok, but I’d go with ‘if’ :)
Regardless,
To my favorite teacher Adam.
To my favorite teacher Adam.
Teachers like you are not easy to find.
I have learnt so much from you.
Thank you for helping me improve. :)
Sincerely, Chloe.
Thank you Chloe :)
Watching your videos is so fun and amusing that I most of the time find myself laughing and smiling while writing down notes. Thank you :) <3
Whether the weather will be good?
Whatever the weather will be.
That’s ok, but not a complete sentence ;)
veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy good lesson Mr adams
Hi, Adam, I understood the lesson, but I was confused choosing the correct answers. I got only 60. Bye! Júlio César.
May you make a video about phonetics transcription. :)
I’ll see what I can do Sameh ;)
Thank you very much for teaching. I could not understand regardless. When do we use “regardless” related to “whether”
Thanks,
Respectfully,
Ariunbolor Purvee
Hi ariunbolor,
Regardless of whether you believe me or not, you are the right person for the job.
Regardless means ‘it doesn’t matter’. I believe what I believe and your opinion is not going to change that.
Does this help?
Thank you Adam, it´s was very helpful.
i got 8 out of 10..ha ha ha
Adam, I am confused with the use of, if or Whether, when a word is used as the other or when both.
Hi Gil,
Watch the video again. Can you give me a specific example?
I like the way you teach. Thanks for helping me learning English.
Good lesson with good examples! I got 10 of ten! Thanx!
Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not.
Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot.
We’ll weather the weather whether we like it or not.
A Tongue Twister.
I like it :)
Thanks Valery
Dear Respected Sir Adam,
I have a question? The below mentioned phrase is not comparative then why we are using whether here? Please advice
“How quickly you progress depends mostly on whether you try hard”
He’s said the ‘or not (Regardless)’ is implicit.
“How quickly you progress (OR NOT) depends monstly on whether you try it hard.”
Hi Farina,
We are discussing whether you will progress quickly or progress not quickly; we are not asking if you will progress or not.
Does this help?
Very useful lesson indeed
As a learner this time i got 5 out of 10.This shows i have to improve myself.
Thank you :)
That become much clearer ^^ Thank U
Thanks Adam, quite informative)
Thanks Adam^^
thanks adam may allah bless you
Hi Adam
it is more complicated than I thought.I Have to practice thousand time.
thank you
Thank you very mucho for the video.
Hey, I have a question about 2nd quiz question:
“Please let the front desk know _________ you need extra towels.”
Right answers are both (if, whether), but logically we should call front desk only if we need extra towels, so there is only 1 right answer – if.
Am I wrong?
Hi Icebeer,
Technically, you’re right. I didn’t provide enough context. However, Some people always want extra towels, so once they check the room they can decide whether they have enough or not.
Good point made , though. I’ll take care with context in future.
Sorry, another point. In some formal situations, people will use whether instead of if just for the formality of it. That;s a choice though.
Thanks Adam for this great video.
If I want to master this piece of grammar, I have to practice more and more whether it’s difficult or not.
I’m looking forward to watching your next video.
Thanks again.
thanks adam :)
Impossible to remember all this rules…
This lesson was the most confusing I’ve found so far…
Thank you.
Thanks! I like this lesson whether you like it or not.
Thank you Adam I got 5 correct out of 10 . Your lesson quite difficult for me. But it is useful.
Thank you Adam I am a new student Thanks
Welcome Yassir :)
Thank you for your clear teaching about that.
I got 10 correct answers.
It was very exciting.
Have a good time!
8/10 Thank you teacher Adam! I learned something today. I am a happy student! =)
I like to study English whether I got worse test points or not.
I like this lesson whether my friend like it or not !!! :)
i got 90%
thank you adam
great lesson. Thanks again!
Thank you, Adam! That really helped!
I have a question but it’s not about this lesson. When I speak in English with somebody and I talk about the future I get confused with using ”will’ and ‘going to’. What is the difference between these two and when do we use each of them? I ask my teacher about it but I still don’t get it but when I watch your videos and everything I didn’t understand at school gets clear thanks to you. :) So I will be happy if you explain it for me! :)
Thanks in advance! :) Have a nice day. :)
Hi Annie,
Use will when talking about the future that you decided on at the time of speaking. For example, if you just got the idea to go to the beach and someone asks “what will you do this weekend?”, say I’ll go to the beach. Going to is used when you had already decided before and maybe even made some plans. In this case, you would say “I’m going to the beach”.
Also, for immediate present action, use will– the doorbell rings, and you say I’ll get it (now).
Does this help?
Very useful lesson!
Thank you, Adam!
so good lesson.
whether you like this lesson or not, i like it. lol
Thank you. I got 2 out of ten.
Cool!!!
Thanks Adam for this difficult, but very useful lesson!
Whether to use if or whether is a somewhat complex decision, however, whether we like or not, this issue must be tackled.
It has been very hard for me, I got confused. My score was 4.0……bad, very bad.
I need your help, Adam.
Keep trying Patico. It takes time and practice, but it will come :)
nice one…..
Thanks Adam,
very useful lesson
Thanks, Adam:
You let me know how to use this two words , if and whether , but I got some confuse sometime . I think I need to do some more exercise.
Best Regards,
Your student Daniel .
So harder! by the way Thank you! i will get it.
Thanks, Adam!
thank you
90 % weather you believe it or not.
I mean whether instead of weather.
Thanks Adam, awesome video ;)
Thank you very much for the lesson Adam, it was tremendously helpful (Y)
Thank you. Now you have a student from Azerbaijan :)
Welcome Ayzel :)
Hi Adam, as you are the best teacher, without any exaggeration, please teach us some common expressions in English that are useful for TOEFL exam .I cannot find them at ENGVID.com
I’ll get on it Kian :)
Sir, what is the difference between less and lesser. I get totally confused about those aforementioned words. I would be highly thankful to you if you make a video discussing the differences….Waiting for the video…Thank you..
Hi Apurba,
Less is a comparative adjective (I have less money than you). Lesser is an adjective of quality (His car is of a lesser brand than mine).
less — more
lesser — better
Does this help? I’ll see what I can do about a video
Thank you sir, thank you very much.You do not even know yourself, How much I owe you for this. It is not like that I did not take the help of others….I watched many a videos to find out the difference between them, but I could not get until I got to know that lesser is the opposite word of best……Thank you….Thanks a ton..
Sorry mistyped I actually wanted to say LESSER IS THE OPPOSITE WORD OF BETTER’.
hello Adam thank you for the lesson i got 8/10 :)
Best lesson Mr. Adm.
I like the lesson, thanks)
But I don’t understand one point. There was a sentence “Do you know _________ he took the blue one or the white one?” in the quiz, and it seemed to me that both if and whether were correct. The sentence is quiet like the second example in the video.
This comment appeared here accidentally! I’m sorry for not checked mistakes))
I like the lesson, thanks)
But I don’t understand one point. There was a sentence “Do you know _________ he took the blue one or the white one?” in the quiz, and it seemed to me that both if and whether were correct. The sentence is quite like the second example in the video. Where am I wrong?
But this comment is important because it contains my question!
Hi Lilium,
Here we have a direct choice between blue and white, so the correct answer is whether (not if), because we are asking about one or the other. (technically, you can use ‘if’, but then you are asking if I know or don’t know his actions, meaning he could have taken either one, both, or neither).
Does this help?
Yes, thank you!
You’ve made it clearer to me.
If I got it right, the sense of the sentence depends on using ‘if’ or ‘whether’.
Indeed :)
Hi everybody, guys who can write an essay about “express your remorse for buying a product”? actually I have no idea about it & I must do it for my English teacher, if you can, help me, please.
And Adam as you help all people, help me, please.
Have you ever bought sth useless? An electronic device maybe? Or a book/computer game)
Just some suggestions))
Thanks, but if you can, do it for me, please.
Sorry, but I’m writing an essay too! You have a head on your shoulders — use it! :P
by the way I love your country Lilumsapiens.
Hi Kian,
I can give you some tips if you need, but I do not do people’s homework for them ;)
Thank Adam for the valuable lesson
Useful! Thanks.
Thank you Adam. You always helping me as usual.
Thank you Adam.
Thank you Adam, very useful and a bit difficult.
Пожалуйста кто знает 100%но, подскажите как правильно спросить по английски: “Как съездил в Москву?”(имеется в виду удачно или не очень). Обязательно используйте в начале ‘HOW WELL’.
How well………………….?
Спасибо.
Adam couldn’t you make a lesson about interrogative sentences which begin with HOW WELL,HOW MUCH,HOW LONG?
For instance: how long time ago (did) you went(go) to school? (sentences like this are difficalt for me(I mean their grammar))Thank you Adam.(it’s important and I think many others in this forum will
approve it)
sorry like THESE/
Hi Katrin,
I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, remember that the adjective that follows ‘how’ contains the meaning of the question (how long ago = when in the past, how much time before…)
So it must be: How long time ago did you go to school?
No need for time (how long means how much time).
How long ago did you…
thank you sir.
you are my favorite teacher and I ask you one thing pleadingly,I have been living in Australia
for 3 years, I could not improve my English in speaking,because still I do not have a proper environment, so you or one of your students can help me through the ‘Skype’ to fulfill my desire
thank you so much.
Jesus loves everyone.
HI Krishna,
I am sure someone here will be happy to help you. Keep asking others and make sure to engage with the comments.
Good luck :)
MY SKYPE ID IS
k.krishna12
good lesson…. but the test was quite difficult. please help me coz i wanna be perfect in English. any suggestion for homework??
Hi Lokesh,
Practice every day :0
Mostly, read a lot and speak English whenever you can. I know this sounds to easy to say, but that’s the only thing that will work .
Good luck :)
good lesson ….
I got 7 marks in my first attempt..not bad!!
Thanks Adam, where can I find more tests to study such topic more properly?
Hi Michael,
Do a Google search. you will be surprised by the number of sites that offer all kinds of quizzes. :)
Thank you
thanks a lot. It’s very useful
Thank you, Adam! Your’re my favorite teacher))
Thank you, Adam. But for me this lesson not very clear((
Thank you. Adam! It is very interesting and clear lesson. I thought that I understand this lesson, but my test result is only 7 correct out of 10 :(
And I don’t understand my mistakes.
Question #2 – Please let the front desk know _________ you need extra towels. Why answer if is incorrect? IF you need extra towels THEN let know. It is condition, right?
Question #3 – Do you know _________ he took the blue one or the white one? I answered – both are correct
Question #10 – How quickly you progress depends mostly on ______ you try hard. I answered – both are correct
Could you, please, explain these questions?
Thanks!
Hi Elena
2- both are correct because whether is more formal (hotel worker to customer) and because some people automatically ask for extras. I should have given more context on that, but the formal part is still true.
3- completely different meanings for each– whether– choice of blue or white. If I use ‘if’ then I am asking about your knowledge of his actions. Technically, can be correct, but not a common question– I would ask “do you know what he did?”
10- one point is that you shouldn’t use if after a preposition. More importantly, though, is that the ‘or not’ is understood here. We are comparing quick progress vs. slow progress, not progress or no progress (how quickly suggests that progress is coming regardless)
Does this help a little?
Thank you for the reply, Adam! It does help me a lot.
Question #2 is still not completely clear for me. But #3 and #10 became absolutely clear.
Thanks so much for your lessons and answering our questions.
Thanks for your question.It’s all same to me.Now I understand by Adam’s answer.Thank u,Adam!
But I feel that:
Question #3 – Do you know _________ he took the blue one or the white one?
is similar with
Excample #2- Do you know if(whether) the exam is on Friday or Saturday.
So I didn’t think of any more to choice the answer both.Maybe Question 3# he have more selection, Excample #2 exam is limited to a few day.Is this understand right?
oh,He has more selections.The exam,a few days.
only 5/10, I thougth I got the point.
thx anyway.
Thank u so much for teaching …
thank i am newely descover the site
I didn’t understand this lesson :(
Try again Katerina. It’s not an easy one.
Hello my friend
I can help you :)
#Ahmad
Sir Adam, All the way, out of the way, go out of (someone) way, (someone) way out of. and other expressions using “way” Thank you
I’ll see about making a lesson for this Joseph :)
thank you so much Adam, and to be honest the method of teaching you use it’s very simple,understandable and useful .
Adam please tell me, is there any diffrence between:
1 give me that
ahd
2 give it to me.
Thank you.
Essentially, no. :)
thanks
Hello Adam,Thank you so much for your teaching, I got the point 3/10 only, I will try to improve my english, but pls help me how I start to study english (Ex.: grammar, vocabulary …. which one first) Thanks
Hi Anna,
I would start with vocab and basic grammar structures like verb tenses and parts of speech. Then move to clauses and phrases and so on.
Really, it’s up to you. Some people learn by doing, so engage more. Others learn by reading, so read more, etc. Find out what way you learn best, then build a program for studies from that.
Good luck :)
I didn’t understand question 10.Can you please explain it?
Hi Aminmeh,
We use whether here because, one point, you shouldn’t use if after a preposition. More importantly, though, is that the ‘or not’ is understood here. We are comparing quick progress vs. slow progress, not progress or no progress (how quickly suggests that progress is coming regardless)
Does this help?
sir, i want speak english with very well because coming 1 month i will attend the interview in my job career..so pls any one teachers and brothers and teachers correct me!!
Thank you everyone :)
Hi Adam thank you for shedding light on the topic that I’d been having problem with.If only we had facebook group on Facebook so that we can practice our english by chating each other on the group.
good lesson
Thanks Mr. Adam…I enjoy your teaching very much :D
Could you please tell me how to use independent and independence. Many Thanks
Hi Joel,
Independent is an adjective, independence is a noun.
I want to be an independent person, but the only way to have independence is by getting a job and money.
Does this help?
Thank you, Adam.Great lesson.
tks for the class teacher, but in my opinion, when the “right answer is both are correct, if you choose one of them, the question must be correct, can you understand me?
Hi Andrea,
I do understand, but then it wouldn’t be entirely correct if you missed half the correct answer ;)
Thx.That’s really helpful :D
It was a great lesson. The more we study, the less mistakes we ll do about this topic. Thanks a lot!!!
Very nice lesson
Thank you. This is very practical.
thanks. I’ve got 6 out of 10.
if I want to improve my English I have to study hard.
Hi Adam, as always your lessons are fantastic: you explain everything in a clear and easy way to understand although still detailed and complete.
In this particular lesson I was just wondering if you can explain us a little bit better how we can distinguish a noun clause from an adverb clause as I am not sure I can say the difference between
“Do you know if Dan is coming? (noun clause)” and
“Let me know if you are coming” (adverb clause)
Thanks a lot and please, keep uploading new and wonderful lessons!
Hi Benni,
Fair enough. Try reversing the order:
If Dan is coming, do you know?
If you are coming, let me know.
The second works as a conditional, the first does not.
Although, technically, you can say the second one is using the noun clause as a complement.
Does this help a little?
According to your explanation, I undrestood that in the example:
Do you know _________ he took the blue one or the white one?
the answer could be “both are correct”, because of the “noun clause”. But the correct one is only “whether”.
Could you explain it a little more? Thanks…
Hi Eortega,
The question is more about the blue or the red, a choice, which suggests whether. If we used if, then the question is about your knowledge of his actions (he took the red, the blue, both, neither), so the meaning changes. That being said, if could technically be correct, but then you would likely change the question to begin with.
Does this help?
10 out of 10.thanks for the lesson adam
Hello Adam!
I just wanna say that I enjoy all your lessons!
But, actually, I got a little confused with this lesson… It’s a little complicated for me to understant that exist 2 ways: If and Whether.
So, I’ll keep practicing…
See you!
I have doubt in 9th question
Hi Mahesh,
This is a condition: we will meet then if it is better for you.
Does this make it clearer?
8 out 10 not bad, Thanks Adam.
thanks a lot mr Adam :) you’re my favourite engvid teacher and your lessons really make learning English much more easy!
You are absolutely right Ms. TanyaRus and all the teacher of engvid are good
whether you admit this or not, you are a great teacher
thank your mr Adam
thankx mr Adam
sometimes I saw some people wrote ” if what or what if”
can u please expalin it to me when to use it?
thank you
Hi Mang,
If waht is the beginning of a conditional clause with a noun clause inside.
What if is the beginning of a hypothetical question or scenario:
I know you don’t like him, but what if you had to live with him?
(not the best example, but hopefully you get the idea)
thxx adam
Thanks for the explanation, Mr. Adam.
I have a question, does whether has the same meaning with ‘either’ and ‘neither’?
sincerely,
your student
Ibrahim
Hi Ibrahim,
No, those are prepositions that refer to one or both of two things.
thank you so much, Sir!
Hi Adam! thank you for the lesson!
but , I think there is a problems in those quizzes
the 10th ,I strongly feel that it should be like ” How quickly you progress mostly depends on How hard you would try.”
please tell me if I’m wrong.
Hi Lklh,
You’re not wrong:
How quickly you progress mostly depends on how hard you try.
But this is just another way of saying it.
…on whether you try hard (or not)–this essentially provides the same option.
Thank you for lesson! I got 9/10.
I’m confused but my score went well.. Yey! ;)
Thank you mr adam..nice lesson!
Tkanks alot
Hello,
Thank you Adam, it’s very interesting lesson,
Please, I can’t understand when we can use both of ” if ” and ” whether “
Hi Bdouda,
If the situation is one where two possibilities exist, you can use either one.
I don’t know if this is right or not.
I don’t know whether this is right or not.
You are both handsome and clever thanks a lot :)
Thanks Adam :) Great lesson!
Sir, it was an awesome lesson.
Sir, please check if the following sentence is incorrect,
“I don’t know whether or not to eat something before dinner”.
Hi Apurba,
“I don’t know whether or not to eat something before dinner”. this is ok.
Thank you sir for giving the answer.
Sir, would you please tell me which one is correct among the following sentences,
“What did Steve Job die of?”
“Why did Steve Job die of?”
“How did Steve Job die of?”
Adam, I have a question. If a sentence ends with “or not”, we should use “whether” and can’t use “if”. Am I right? By the way thanks a lot for the lesson.
Hiii Adam!
Should I use do or does with somebody, everybody, anybody.
Thanxxxx
Hi Bahadorzadehalraisi,
Use does (these are all singular pronouns).
6th point of the queez – I wonder _________ Tom will come to the party. Do you realy use “will” in condition clauses? I am not sure it is correct. I would say I wonder if(whether) Tom comes to the party.
I got 70 points. I think I should watch this video again and try to figure it out.Anyway,thanks for this lesson.Oh! I almost forgot :)! Can you tell me the difference between using “should” and “better” in daily conversation?
Thanks Adam for lovely lesson !
thanxxxx Adam.
thanks Adam for your teaching
This lesson is so complicated, but you make it clear. Thank you so much.
I have a request. It would really very much apreciated if you could make a lesson about using WILL after IF. I know, it’s ok to use WILL after if as long as it’s not conditional. I tried finding such topics on the internet and i wasn’t satisfied with the given examples. Native speakers themselves can’t really explain when we can use it.
In the song by Savage Garden in the chorus : i would fly to the moon and back if YOU”LL be my baby….
I don t understand this lesson, i m confused by ….OR NOT. :(
thanks for your lesson!!
Hi Adam, Thanks for lesson! Can you please explain why question 4 not having the right answer “both are correct” instead of “if”.
” Question-4. Can you let me know _______ anyone calls for me, please? “
Even though your lesson is very clear, it is very hard to get the right one sometimes. It seems that you need either a little more context or information to exactly know which you should use between them.
Thanks a lot, Adam! I have been waiting for this lesson!
Thanks Adam
Can I mention three options when I use “If” ?
Would you like to upload the video about “WHEN AND WHILE” ? Because I am confused which one is proper to use in my writing. Thanks Mr. Adam.
Could you explain why the answer on number 7 and 9 is using if? I don’t get it well.
Very helpful, Thank you
Hi. Thanks for your amazing lessons. I had a question regarding if and whether. Can you tell me when we use commas in sentences with “if” or “whether”? Is there a situation where a comma can be optional? Thank you so much.
Thanks Adam.7of10.
Thanks fro the lesson
You rock !
It’s clear for me when to use Whether… But I don’t know when to use Whether or if :(
Thanks for your lesson Adam!
I have a question about 2th
“Please let the front desk know _________ you need extra towels.”
The answer is both are correct.But do the answers”if”and”whether have the same meaning?
I think if I use “if” , “if you need extra towels” can be a conditional clause. is this right? thanks!
It is not clear when both are possible. It seems it’s possible every time even if the meaning is different as explained with 2 otpions. Adam, Could you clarify ?
Is the “regardless” subtlety make the difference or the case when we can use both ?
Adam is the best teacher I’ve have in my life! thanks a lot! my english is improving day by day
Thanks for new informations
You are really good at teaching.
The last question on the quiz I do not understand why both are correct , I thought it is conditional so I choosed if
Thanks a lot mr adam it was a very informative lesson. You are the best teacher I’ve ever known.I hope you can help me in some other issues but I don’t know how to communicate with you directly so if you don’t mind give me your whatsapp number or your social account that you use most.^-^
1)Let meknow ifyou are coming.
2)Let me nkow when you are coming.
Are this examples equal or have differences? Answer, please, it’s very important for understanding proper usage for “if”.
that is my 1st quiz and being started :)
This is so confusing… hehe… i only got 4 of 10… by the way thaks adam for the wonderful lesson… maybe i’ll practice more about this lesson…???
thanks
Very good Adam ! you have been very clean, as always !
Good lesson Adam , but Iam having one doubt, in 10 the question why can’t we use if , could you clarify my doubt
Good Evening to Adam and to all. My name is Carla and I come from Italy. I have just found out engvid, it was suggested me by my English teacher. I am enjoying it very much, and I appreciated this and other lessons, thanks.
I wonder if weather, whether and wether have all same pronunciation.
Thanks!
Hi Adam, this lesson drives me crazy. I listened it three times, in three different moments. Every time it seems to me I got it, and so I do the quiz after.
First time I got 90%. Second 50% and this night, the last, 50% again.
I almost failed all answers about “both are correct”. I failed 2,3,4,9,10.
I cannot understand why.
THANKS A LOT! VERY USEFUL
What a great leeson!
Thank you! Adam!
i appreciate the lesson, whether you agree or not :D :D Thank you Adam
Adam, please help
despite whether the price is high or not
is this sentence is right?
Thank youu very much. You are very helpful !
I have never found such a great teacher like you
Hi Adam,
Thanks for the lesson. I have also heard ” Little did I know…”. Can you please throw some light on such expressions? Thanks in advance
Still I not understand,even though I made the mistake some of them
Hy Adam!
I am from Afghanistan and wishing u best luck, whether you read my comment or not.
Keep up the good work.
i’ve got 7 out of ten is it poor…
you r great Adam thanks for being there. peace and love for u :-)
It’s nice to participate in the important lessons with your videos,thes vary important and accurate notes and this is very important for me
now in the beginning to i follow your first video lesson was three years ago and i follow all your lessons gradually, I had a small request how I can contact you to give me some special tips to shw me my level of English language and what i focus about .
hello i got 80% in this lesson but i have little confusion using “asto” and whether if in a same sentence. look i giving e.g. he however gave a circuitous reply to posers as to whether the left would approach the congress if it did not make the first move. what does it mean please let me know. soon. regard manish
Thanks a lot Adam, I’ve always used these with uncertainty! 80% is not bad :-)
i love the way you talk in English and way you learn. thanx Adam.
thanx once again. it’s really useful for me
Thanks for your lesson :)
Adam , you are amazing ! I wanna more lesson about reading , I need this. Please let me know whether you gonna make video or not.
Hi,Teacher the lesson was excellent but Iam still confused in noun,adjective and adverb clauses please make it easy for me.Thanks
Hello ,
salam. pakistani lagti nahi.???
This test does not work correctly. I put for example *If* it shows me i put *whether* or *both are correct* supposedly. Why this test works such?
Thank you ?
Thank you for this lesson, Mr. Adam.
Yet I have a question.
If I want to say to a friend that I don’t know when the exam and also want to exaggerate my ignorance, can I say: “I don’t know if it is on Friday, Sunday or Monday.”
Here are more that three alternatives, the exam can be on Saturday as example. Would the sentence be grammatically correct? If not, how can I fix it?
Could you help me, please?
Hello Adam,
First, thanks a lot for all your lessons.
It is very helpful for my understanding. I’m presently learning for the TOEIC exam.
About this lesson, I have a question.
In one of my test, I think have a case not explain in your movie.
The sentence is “It is highly doubtful _whether_ Kelvin is going to return to work after his illness.”
Does this sentence is corect? Could you tell me more about this sentence construction please?
Best regards,
Antony.
i feel confused :(
Thank you for great lessons.
From the last question on the quiz, can we say:”Whether he invites me to the party, I will attend.” Does it mean whether or not he invites me i will attend (regardless)?
hi Adam , how are you? i want to say thanks for your class i think that was very pleasant. but i did the quiz and my score was 50 points.
hhmmmm i don´t understand very well when we gotta use wheter in the statements.
see you in the next class
Hoy voy gastar un million contigo no importa si me quieres o no???
this is spanish song hahaha
lot of love from pakistan….
Hi Adam, Kindly explain me in bit detail of the question number 2, 6 and 9. How is it possible both are correct. Kindly understand me . I shall be grateful to you.
7/10..:( plzz explain in ques no. 2 & 6 hw cn we use both? As u said if its conditional then Only “If” will be correct.
Thank you very much. U helped me
Adam , You’re my favorite teacher in Engvid.com,Your teaching is easy to understand,Thank you so much.
Thank you Adam! Great lesson from great teacher!
I’ve gotten a bad grade on quizz.
But I could understand the lesson, I used to have a lot of doubts about this subject.
Thanks ENGVID, and thanks Adam!
I play your videos in my classes. Your lessons are very practical and useful. Will be great if there be a video about, ” though, although, however and so”
Thank you so very much Adam.
You and Ronnie are my favorite Engvid teachers of all times.
YOur lessons are always great! Thank you a lot!
Adam is my most favorite teacher among the 12 teachers on this website.
Hi Adam,
First of all thanks for the great lessons. I’m still confused, though.
First, in your example ” Let me know whether/if you’re coming.” “Know” can be vi or vt if I’m right. If the “know” is vi, the clause should be adverb conditional clause. In such case both whether and if are correct, meaning regardless. Am I right?
Second, what you have explained question No 10 means that “whether” includes the meaning of how much effort being made and how s/o achieves something, whereas “if” indicates only the result being achieved or not. Is that it ?
Looking forward to your response. Thanks a bunch!
good lesson
I understand this lesson carefully, but I don’t know why I got 30 out of 100 :(
Hi comrade Adam, your channel is very useful, but I suggest to go to the depth of English and teach us how to answer our literature exams. I face difficulty when I study literature. In addition, I hope to talk about more advanced grammar go deep deep deep we want more knowledge man !! I like your accent, thank’s.
Hi，Mr.Adam thank you for the lesson “if and whether”.
I want to know these two sentences：
Please let the front desk know if you need extra towels.
Please let the front desk know whether you need extra towels.
Do they have the same meaning？
Adam:
Why the question 10 is [both are correct]?
(10. How quickly you progress depends mostly on ______ you try hard.)Thank you.
well I is confusing and hard to understand it. I got 60% really hard. :(
Thanks any way to all teachers
I make test and plz explain me this (I wonder _________ Tom will come to the party.) and correct answer is “both are correct”. I wonder if tom will come, if no I will not wonder. I think correct is “IF”. plzz explain me WHY? (sorry for my English)
Nice lesson.Thank you
hello sofiane I wanna improuve my english skills with somme one on engvideo. does it a mind you if we do it together? if you agree, make me know by my e-mail danieldekasse@gmail.com
adam can we use whthwe as a condional sentances ,
as we use structure of if(conditional sentances).if yes plz uplord videos
not whthwe it is whether
Hi teacher, my name is bertin, can I contact you in facebook or skype?, i would like take a videocall by one of those ways with you………… thank you
Hello Adam,
This is Mr Mehdi
I would like to thank you for the useful lessons I have ever seen. I wasn’t knew how to use the grammar in my speaking and writing, but now I feel confident about using it.
Regards
I have failed here. I will try again and again.
Hi Adam… I watch your videos it’s great but personally I have problems I hope if you can help me to get over them,,, I am bad at writing and when I write something even if I have watched your video about writing and it is very helpful I don’t know whether I have made mistakes ,besides my problem with prepositions I can’t use them correctly ? I have to be agood English writer in order to work on my research project
thnx adam ive got 8 out of 10
Very good explanation
quiz isn’t working…….
explain 10 plz sir
i didn’t get 6no. question . why both r correct there?
Try your best.
I really like it!
Wonderful!I got 90.This is the best grade I have ever took here.Thank you Adam.
By the way,speaking of grade,I have a question,what is the difference between grade and score?
Hello Adam,
Could you please help me with this sentence. Would it be right to say – If you ask me whether I want to go to a wilderness survival camp, I would say more “yes” than “no”.
thank you
Nice lesson
Not until I got a 6/10 pre-lesson did I find out I’ve been wrong for years…Now they are clear after I watched the lesson, thanks a bunch, Adam!
Thanks Adam for explaining the lesson. I can say it’s one of the confusing lessons for me in English. despite your well explanation I got only 7 out of 10 right. :(
Could you please explain 6th question?
I choosed “if” as the correct answer
Thanking you in anticipation
From below said, i understood my mistake. ^ ^
_ thanks
Hi Bdouda,
If the situation is one where two possibilities exist, you can use either one.
I don’t know if this is right or not.
I don’t know whether this is right or not.
very nice lesson sir,i got 5 out of 10 and i’am very happy to be a part of it and i’ll do practice on it…
I completly liked this lesson, “If” is a common conditional for me, now I had increased my vocabulary with “whether” for evertime I would have in a sentence more than one alternative…. “I will take the TOEFL to study in the US, weather you like it or not”… yeap.. I loved it. lol
It is so complicated….:(
hi adam,your program is very good and I can learning too much from your video.but I want ask to you about”with” where is it state in the last sentence. like exmp is “maybe you have got a friend who you are studying english with” could you explain please, maybe you have video about it. please share and thanks
Hello Adam. And I wanna ask you: there’s some questions in the quiz where “if” and “whether” are correctly to use. Why if i’ve chosen one of them system defines all sentence like wrong? I think, its silly
Nice one Adam
Great lesson, I’m actually studying this topic in my classes.
Thanks so much! :)
May I use “subject+will+base of a verb” after if or whether? Ciao (great lesson).
Hi!
I would like to do the exercises again, I did lots mistake, how can I do it?
No worries I could managed it. Thanks
Thanks Adam.
Nice lesson!!! although I have had a bad result
I failed the test haha. I have to repeat the lesson. Thank you again.
Thank you Adam.God Bless
Hello Adam,
I always had the doubt how to use if and whether; today this lesson was great although the grammar is a little difficult, more if we don’t put it in practice, whether yes or not we need this grammatical norm. Bye…….. John
I got 7. It is a little tricky. I will succeed whether it takes two months or three months.
You are really great teacher. I Love so much your teaching style. I am learning free from you what ı need . May be it would be hard for me with money. Long live Adam
you are one of my favorite teachers!
Hi Adam.Each and every time fill the quiz isn’t successfull,just scoring 50 or 60.I’m wondering why,but all the lesson put my attention.I’ve scored 60 in the quize this time.I have another problem,that I can’t use in sentences all the grammar tips,you are teaching.I’ve been working to write a good,a efficient sentences,but making mistakes all time.No body can correct my sentences around me.Maybe that’s way,taking many grammatical mistakes and struggling all the time for me.Thank you Adam.Best wish for you
jesus and I Jesus love him. like a teacher
Thanx Adam
Thank you, Adam!
But i have some problem here “while the men continued to argue about whether or not they would be moving the next day” could you explain this line cause it was tricky
thanks Adam
I’ve always confused these 2 but now I almost got..
just in final quiz I didn’t get why “wether”???
I got it. It’s so easy. Thank you for teaching Adam.
Thank you Adam.
Thanks
Sir m just confused about the last one how it can be whether n not if?????
Pls reply sir.
that was so amazing, i mean i really bad in english and my listing is worse than my writing but this class is very very clear. I am very thankful for your help. Pleas do not stop to help people with your amzing skills.
I am smart now because of you! Thanks Mr.Adam!!!!!!!!!!!
Adam, I saw the video twice but didnt understand. Whether is used when there are two options and if for one option? help me…
Hey Adam!
I hope you are fine. I really want to thank you for making your videos so informative. I have never taken any online English grammar classes before, but when I saw your video on youtube, I said to myself that he is the man I need to listen if I want to improve my English writing. Thanks a lot, Adam, for making things this much easier.
I got 7 correct out of 10
thank you
I got 7 correct out of 10 thank you teacher
Hello Adam,
Thank you very much for your lessons. They are very helpful!
I have a question regarding the quiz.
#2: I answered if because I thought it was similar to your example “Let me know if Dan is coming”. I thought #2 was a condition: If you need towels (condition), please let us know; otherwise, don’t let us know. However, the right answer was “both are correct”. Could you comment on that, please? I would appreciate your help.
Cheers
Liza
I also think that the second question is a conditional sentence.
Thanks Mr. Adam.
I got 7 out of 10. I guess I am okay with this lesson. My mistakes questions are 4, 6, and 10. 10 is a tough question. Thank you mr. Adam.
got 8/10
Thank you!
thank you so much it helps a lot! love you and planning watch all videos been here !
7 out of 10 not bad for beginner ?
Why can’t I see the question2 as a conditional sentence? I feel confused now. The word “know ” can be transitive or intransitive.
I got 8 at first attempt. Thanks for the lesson, sir.
Thank you Adam. Very interesting lesson. 7/10
Hello, Adam. Thank you for the lesson.
I have a question for you.
In this sentence:
How quickly you progress depends mostly on ______ you try hard.
Is it ‘you progress’ or ‘your progress’? I’m a little bit confused.
I think must be ‘your progress’ Am I wrong?
Thanks in advance.
Now, I see. Progress in this case is a verb not a noun. I think that I have replied to myself. :)
Hi Adam,
I wrote an email to my customer saying “the delivery is tight, we are wondering whether we can make it or not”. Is this sentence right?
What a wonderful lesson! I did not tell the difference between these two words. Thank you very much.
I’ll leave a comment here whether you reply to my comment or not. :)
Great lesson, thank you very much!
Dear Adam,
Although it was a little complicated for me, I got 80. Thank you for this lesson.
I love all ur videos i have no complain either.but while answering quiz questions what if you add numbers on them to count on the questions.
Dear Adam
I truly appreciate for all which you learn to us.
Excelent Lesson Adam,
Could you please make a video explaining the proper use of ‘RATHER’?
Thanks in advance!
Nice topic.
Great lessons. Thanks
Hey Dear Adam, I highly appreciate your efforts in explaining this wonderful lesson. I cannot see why both if and whether are correct for this sentence. “I wonder _________ Tom will come to the party.” because I believe the sentence does not contain two alternatives. Thus, to use whether the sentence should be as follows “I wonder whether Tom will come to the party or not”. Could you help me, please?
ı couldn’t understand Q 10 ……
Nice explanation👍I would like to aşk another question about if clauses. We use them with their types,type 0-1-2-3 or mixed types. But I have a feeling that when I use if clause like this” if you are learning English,…” I use it grammatically incorrect. İs it correct? Do native speakers use ” if ” with different clauses? Can you give some examples ? Thanks in advance.