Strange use of “whether … than …” in official text The Next CEO of Stack Overflow“Whether or not” vs. “whether”Can I use “because” more than once in a sentence?How to use “text” as a verbHow to conclude long “whether … or” clausesUse of “if”/“whether”Is the use of ”comfort” ok in this text?Question regarding the use of “rather than”“Enquire about whether” vs. “enquire whether”“whether” or “according as” or …?As strange a question as any
Computationally populating tables with probability data
Film where the government was corrupt with aliens, people sent to kill aliens are given rigged visors not showing the right aliens
Help understanding this unsettling image of Titan, Epimetheus, and Saturn's rings?
Why the last AS PATH item always is `I` or `?`?
Aggressive Under-Indexing and no data for missing index
Is it ever safe to open a suspicious HTML file (e.g. email attachment)?
Won the lottery - how do I keep the money?
Do scriptures give a method to recognize a truly self-realized person/jivanmukta?
IC has pull-down resistors on SMBus lines?
Does destroying a Lich's phylactery destroy the soul within it?
Calculate the Mean mean of two numbers
TikZ: How to fill area with a special pattern?
Expressing the idea of having a very busy time
Why is information "lost" when it got into a black hole?
Can I board the first leg of the flight without having final country's visa?
Reference request: Grassmannian and Plucker coordinates in type B, C, D
Do I need to write [sic] when including a quotation with a number less than 10 that isn't written out?
Spaces in which all closed sets are regular closed
Help! I cannot understand this game’s notations!
In the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" video game, what potion is used to sabotage Umbridge's speakers?
How did Beeri the Hittite come up with naming his daughter Yehudit?
How to use ReplaceAll on an expression that contains a rule
What connection does MS Office have to Netscape Navigator?
Does Germany produce more waste than the US?
Strange use of “whether … than …” in official text
The Next CEO of Stack Overflow“Whether or not” vs. “whether”Can I use “because” more than once in a sentence?How to use “text” as a verbHow to conclude long “whether … or” clausesUse of “if”/“whether”Is the use of ”comfort” ok in this text?Question regarding the use of “rather than”“Enquire about whether” vs. “enquire whether”“whether” or “according as” or …?As strange a question as any
Is using "whether ... than ..." in the following grammatically correct? "This applies whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018."
The phrase comes from the IRS publication 519 (2018), Chapter 1, Section "Dual-Status Aliens", Subsection "Last Year of Residency", Paragraph "Residency during the next year", with my bold.
Residency during the next year. If you are a U.S. resident during any part of 2019 and you are a resident during any part of 2018, you will be treated as a resident through the end of 2018. This applies whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018, and whether you are a resident under the substantial presence test or green card test.
(I should add that I am obviously not looking for legal advice: in any case this paragraph does not apply to me.)
grammaticality
New contributor
add a comment |
Is using "whether ... than ..." in the following grammatically correct? "This applies whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018."
The phrase comes from the IRS publication 519 (2018), Chapter 1, Section "Dual-Status Aliens", Subsection "Last Year of Residency", Paragraph "Residency during the next year", with my bold.
Residency during the next year. If you are a U.S. resident during any part of 2019 and you are a resident during any part of 2018, you will be treated as a resident through the end of 2018. This applies whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018, and whether you are a resident under the substantial presence test or green card test.
(I should add that I am obviously not looking for legal advice: in any case this paragraph does not apply to me.)
grammaticality
New contributor
This applies if it's true that you have a closer connection...
– Centaurus
1 hour ago
add a comment |
Is using "whether ... than ..." in the following grammatically correct? "This applies whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018."
The phrase comes from the IRS publication 519 (2018), Chapter 1, Section "Dual-Status Aliens", Subsection "Last Year of Residency", Paragraph "Residency during the next year", with my bold.
Residency during the next year. If you are a U.S. resident during any part of 2019 and you are a resident during any part of 2018, you will be treated as a resident through the end of 2018. This applies whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018, and whether you are a resident under the substantial presence test or green card test.
(I should add that I am obviously not looking for legal advice: in any case this paragraph does not apply to me.)
grammaticality
New contributor
Is using "whether ... than ..." in the following grammatically correct? "This applies whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018."
The phrase comes from the IRS publication 519 (2018), Chapter 1, Section "Dual-Status Aliens", Subsection "Last Year of Residency", Paragraph "Residency during the next year", with my bold.
Residency during the next year. If you are a U.S. resident during any part of 2019 and you are a resident during any part of 2018, you will be treated as a resident through the end of 2018. This applies whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018, and whether you are a resident under the substantial presence test or green card test.
(I should add that I am obviously not looking for legal advice: in any case this paragraph does not apply to me.)
grammaticality
grammaticality
New contributor
New contributor
New contributor
asked 2 hours ago
Bruno Le FlochBruno Le Floch
1212
1212
New contributor
New contributor
This applies if it's true that you have a closer connection...
– Centaurus
1 hour ago
add a comment |
This applies if it's true that you have a closer connection...
– Centaurus
1 hour ago
This applies if it's true that you have a closer connection...
– Centaurus
1 hour ago
This applies if it's true that you have a closer connection...
– Centaurus
1 hour ago
add a comment |
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
The phrase is saying "whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than you do to the United States". I see no cohesion between whether and than here.
add a comment |
In the sentence
whether
is used as a function word to indicate an indirect question involving stated or implied alternatives
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whether).
Than
is not connected with 'whether' but with the comparative form
closer .
add a comment |
The sentence in question is perfectly grammatical. It follows the following pattern:
X is applicable whether a comparison is true (you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018).
This said, there's no relation between whether and than.
The sentence is poorly constructed -- almost designed to confuse. But, yes, it's still "perfectly grammatical".
– Hot Licks
31 mins ago
add a comment |
It's not strange. It's correct. Let's make it easier to digest by putting the subordinate clause first:
"Whether (or not) you have a closer connection to a foreign country
than the United States during 2018, this applies to you."
I added "or not" in parentheses because it is meant but is left implied, which is often the case in English and is the case in this sentence. Maybe this is what's throwing you off, like by mistakenly thinking the "than" is providing the "or" alternative for "whether" that's been omitted, "than" and "or" both being conjunctions.
Here's a simplified version of the sentence:
"Whether or not you have a closer friend than Uncle Sam, this applies."
To be clear, the above sentence doesn't mean the same thing as your sentence. It is merely a similar sentence that doesn't use so many words so it becomes clearer what the structure is and what's being said.
add a comment |
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Bruno Le Floch is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f492092%2fstrange-use-of-whether-than-in-official-text%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
The phrase is saying "whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than you do to the United States". I see no cohesion between whether and than here.
add a comment |
The phrase is saying "whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than you do to the United States". I see no cohesion between whether and than here.
add a comment |
The phrase is saying "whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than you do to the United States". I see no cohesion between whether and than here.
The phrase is saying "whether you have a closer connection to a foreign country than you do to the United States". I see no cohesion between whether and than here.
answered 1 hour ago
Jim MackJim Mack
7,08721832
7,08721832
add a comment |
add a comment |
In the sentence
whether
is used as a function word to indicate an indirect question involving stated or implied alternatives
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whether).
Than
is not connected with 'whether' but with the comparative form
closer .
add a comment |
In the sentence
whether
is used as a function word to indicate an indirect question involving stated or implied alternatives
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whether).
Than
is not connected with 'whether' but with the comparative form
closer .
add a comment |
In the sentence
whether
is used as a function word to indicate an indirect question involving stated or implied alternatives
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whether).
Than
is not connected with 'whether' but with the comparative form
closer .
In the sentence
whether
is used as a function word to indicate an indirect question involving stated or implied alternatives
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whether).
Than
is not connected with 'whether' but with the comparative form
closer .
answered 1 hour ago
user307254user307254
4,0302516
4,0302516
add a comment |
add a comment |
The sentence in question is perfectly grammatical. It follows the following pattern:
X is applicable whether a comparison is true (you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018).
This said, there's no relation between whether and than.
The sentence is poorly constructed -- almost designed to confuse. But, yes, it's still "perfectly grammatical".
– Hot Licks
31 mins ago
add a comment |
The sentence in question is perfectly grammatical. It follows the following pattern:
X is applicable whether a comparison is true (you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018).
This said, there's no relation between whether and than.
The sentence is poorly constructed -- almost designed to confuse. But, yes, it's still "perfectly grammatical".
– Hot Licks
31 mins ago
add a comment |
The sentence in question is perfectly grammatical. It follows the following pattern:
X is applicable whether a comparison is true (you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018).
This said, there's no relation between whether and than.
The sentence in question is perfectly grammatical. It follows the following pattern:
X is applicable whether a comparison is true (you have a closer connection to a foreign country than the United States during 2018).
This said, there's no relation between whether and than.
answered 1 hour ago
Lucian SavaLucian Sava
13925
13925
The sentence is poorly constructed -- almost designed to confuse. But, yes, it's still "perfectly grammatical".
– Hot Licks
31 mins ago
add a comment |
The sentence is poorly constructed -- almost designed to confuse. But, yes, it's still "perfectly grammatical".
– Hot Licks
31 mins ago
The sentence is poorly constructed -- almost designed to confuse. But, yes, it's still "perfectly grammatical".
– Hot Licks
31 mins ago
The sentence is poorly constructed -- almost designed to confuse. But, yes, it's still "perfectly grammatical".
– Hot Licks
31 mins ago
add a comment |
It's not strange. It's correct. Let's make it easier to digest by putting the subordinate clause first:
"Whether (or not) you have a closer connection to a foreign country
than the United States during 2018, this applies to you."
I added "or not" in parentheses because it is meant but is left implied, which is often the case in English and is the case in this sentence. Maybe this is what's throwing you off, like by mistakenly thinking the "than" is providing the "or" alternative for "whether" that's been omitted, "than" and "or" both being conjunctions.
Here's a simplified version of the sentence:
"Whether or not you have a closer friend than Uncle Sam, this applies."
To be clear, the above sentence doesn't mean the same thing as your sentence. It is merely a similar sentence that doesn't use so many words so it becomes clearer what the structure is and what's being said.
add a comment |
It's not strange. It's correct. Let's make it easier to digest by putting the subordinate clause first:
"Whether (or not) you have a closer connection to a foreign country
than the United States during 2018, this applies to you."
I added "or not" in parentheses because it is meant but is left implied, which is often the case in English and is the case in this sentence. Maybe this is what's throwing you off, like by mistakenly thinking the "than" is providing the "or" alternative for "whether" that's been omitted, "than" and "or" both being conjunctions.
Here's a simplified version of the sentence:
"Whether or not you have a closer friend than Uncle Sam, this applies."
To be clear, the above sentence doesn't mean the same thing as your sentence. It is merely a similar sentence that doesn't use so many words so it becomes clearer what the structure is and what's being said.
add a comment |
It's not strange. It's correct. Let's make it easier to digest by putting the subordinate clause first:
"Whether (or not) you have a closer connection to a foreign country
than the United States during 2018, this applies to you."
I added "or not" in parentheses because it is meant but is left implied, which is often the case in English and is the case in this sentence. Maybe this is what's throwing you off, like by mistakenly thinking the "than" is providing the "or" alternative for "whether" that's been omitted, "than" and "or" both being conjunctions.
Here's a simplified version of the sentence:
"Whether or not you have a closer friend than Uncle Sam, this applies."
To be clear, the above sentence doesn't mean the same thing as your sentence. It is merely a similar sentence that doesn't use so many words so it becomes clearer what the structure is and what's being said.
It's not strange. It's correct. Let's make it easier to digest by putting the subordinate clause first:
"Whether (or not) you have a closer connection to a foreign country
than the United States during 2018, this applies to you."
I added "or not" in parentheses because it is meant but is left implied, which is often the case in English and is the case in this sentence. Maybe this is what's throwing you off, like by mistakenly thinking the "than" is providing the "or" alternative for "whether" that's been omitted, "than" and "or" both being conjunctions.
Here's a simplified version of the sentence:
"Whether or not you have a closer friend than Uncle Sam, this applies."
To be clear, the above sentence doesn't mean the same thing as your sentence. It is merely a similar sentence that doesn't use so many words so it becomes clearer what the structure is and what's being said.
edited 13 secs ago
answered 16 mins ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,33431639
5,33431639
add a comment |
add a comment |
Bruno Le Floch is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Bruno Le Floch is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Bruno Le Floch is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Bruno Le Floch is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f492092%2fstrange-use-of-whether-than-in-official-text%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
This applies if it's true that you have a closer connection...
– Centaurus
1 hour ago