Confused about using weather or not or whether or not? You’re not alone. Weather and whether are homophones, which means they sound the same but have different meanings. That’s why they often get confused.
Don’t panic, though! As part of our spelling tips series, this guide will explain everything you need to know.
In short, the correct spelling is whether or not. But why?
Whether is a conjunction that presents a choice between alternatives or shows doubt.
Weather is a noun. It refers to the atmosphere in a geographical area, such as rain, sunshine, snow, or wind.
So, when you say whether or not, you’re acknowledging two or more possibilities and implying that none of them are important to the rest of the statement. Here are some examples of how to use whether or not:
We’re getting a puppy, whether or not you’re happy about it.
Whether or not it’s raining, we’re going for a walk.
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Whether he likes it or not, he needs new socks for Christmas.
The Exception
Just to confuse things, there’s an exception. This is the English language, after all! There are few and far between occasions where you might need to say weather or not. But, of course, that’ll be when you’re talking about the weather. For example, you might want to say:
Weather or not, we’re going to have a lovely barbecue.
This implies that regardless of the weather, you’ll still have a lovely barbeque. But, in most cases, it’s whether or not.
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