SOS English

Denise perguntou, Sarah Brush respondeu:

Tenho uma pergunta interessante... nos explique quando usamos o "if" e o "whether". Muitas vezes em português tem o mesmo significado e em inglês?Segunda pergunta... como vc traduziria "uttering"?É isso ai, Bjao,

Resposta:

"if", "whether" and "utterance"
good questions, and interesting to answer, because the use of "if" and "whether" depends on the context of the sentence.
i'm assuming that this question is based on the translation of your word "se". "se" can be "if" or "whether". and it is even good for english speakers, because i don't think that we use them correctly. it isn't hard to mix up, because "if" and "whether" are synonyms of each other. if you look in the dictionary, you'll see "whether" as one of the breakoff definitions for "if". the best answer i can give you, is that "if" is a conjunction that can be used for almost all imaginary clauses...examples of imaginary clauses:

1. IF it rains today, i won't go to the store.

2. i'll make a good grade IF i study hard. these clauses are imaginary, because they are not certain. IF they were certain, they would be a statement. : )

"whether" refers more to a specific imaginary clause, usually with only two outcomes. Webster's dictionary has the following definition: "which/whichever one of the two". not a very concrete definition, but it does show us that it is in a situation usually with two options:

1. he wondered WHETHER or not the mail had come. (either the mail came, or it didn't)"if" and "whether" can be used for the same situation. for example: 1. IF it rains today, i won't go to the store.

2. i'll go to the store, depending on WHETHER or not it rains today. in everyday english, "whether" is not used as much. "If" is not only much easier to say, but much easier to use loosely, as is the norm for colloquial language. *But please, give me an example of something in Portuguese, and then i can give you a more visual example to help you out.

Webster's defines "utterance" as 2 things:

1. vocal expression

2. power, style, manner of speakingto "utter" something really means to "say" something.it is simply a creative way to say "speak".

eh isso.

Sarah Brush