grammaticality - "Whether or not" vs. "whether"






    • This will depend on whether he's suitable for the job.

    • This will depend on whether he's suitable for the job or not.

    • This will depend on whether or not he's suitable for the job.





    • It is still not defined whether we're following that approach.

    • It is still not defined whether we're following that approach or not.

    • It is still not defined whether or not we're following that approach.





"Or not" doesn't really seem to be needed to complement "whether". Why do people use it then? Is it redundancy and nothing more? Or is it for emphasis? Or are there cases when "or not" is required for the sentence to be grammatical?



Answer



The addition of the "or not" is neither logically nor grammatically required. I think it's often used conversationally for emphasis. I definitely wouldn't use it in writing myself.


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