GRAMMAR: Excellent on-line GRAMMAR resources

[Erin]

This is a GREAT resource for grammar:

This one was written for NASA scientists, but it has a lot of good info:
[*]http://stipo.larc.nasa.gov/sp7084/sp7084ch1.html
[*]http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/

but it has some mistakes. For example,

on page

http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/plague.htm

s/he says:

In terms of: See if you can eliminate this phrase.

should be

In terms of: See whether you can eliminate this phrase.

On the same page, s/he says:

Orientate: The new students become oriented, not orientated.

In British English, this is quite common. Therefore ETS cannot consider this incorrect.

[vreddy]

1. See if you can eliminate this phrase.

The usage of if in the above is correct. The difference b/w if and whether is that the former expects an affirmative answer. Nor does "if" introduce a hypothetical clause in this kinda constructions.

Look at what Bernie Ward says on KGO 810:

2. You are more than welcome if you would like to be part of this programme.

[Erin]

Originally posted by vreddy

The usage of if in the above is correct. The difference b/w if and whether is that the former expects an affirmative answer. Nor does "if" introduce a hypothetical clause in this kinda constructions.

Well, my thinking is that if introduces adverb clauses, whether noun clauses. see is transitive in this sense and therefore requires a noun clause after it. Simple as that.

Yes, we do speak this way all the time (I do too), but in written formal English, I think it is imprecise.

Originally posted by vreddy


Look at what Bernie Ward says on KGO 810:

2. You are more than welcome if you would like to be part of this programme.

Awkward syntax, but grammatically sound--if introduces an adverb clause.

[vreddy]

I beg to disagree with the opinion of the majority vote in RE:if. If/Whether introduces nominal clauses, nor do they modify any in this scenario.

1. See whether you can eliminate this phrase.
2. Now choose yourself whether that you liketh. --Chaucer.
3. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? --Matt xxi.31

Given the italicized portion is a nominal clause, which part of speech is "whether"? Definitely it is not a conjunction/adverb, nor is it a pronoun(2 and 3 are examples of pronoun usage). In fact "that", being a determiner, markers a nominal, determining a clause.