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whether or not?

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by concept » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:33 am
I couldn't decide whether to join the music class or not.

can you guys tell me if the above sentence uses the corrrect idioms? I am a little confused here as to whether the 'or not' should come at the end (or not :) ).
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by josh@knewton » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:04 am
This is not strictly wrong in the GMAT context.

A good rule to go by is: "whether" describes 2 options; "if" for more than 2 options.

And you don't need the "or not" if the whether is only thing between doing something and not doing something. I.e. in I can't decide whether to wear a jacket -- the "or not" is not needed.

Hopefully helpful,
Josh
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by reply2spg » Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:12 pm
Thanks for your inputs josh...As per manhatten whether X or not is always wrong construction. Therefore, I eliminate whether or not options. I never see any correct option with 'whether....or not' both.
josh@knewton wrote:This is not strictly wrong in the GMAT context.

A good rule to go by is: "whether" describes 2 options; "if" for more than 2 options.

And you don't need the "or not" if the whether is only thing between doing something and not doing something. I.e. in I can't decide whether to wear a jacket -- the "or not" is not needed.

Hopefully helpful,
Josh
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