Here’s one that a lot of people, even first-language speakers, get mixed up: the difference between the words “weather”and “whether”. It’s easy to confuse the two, because they are homophones. Homophones are two words that sound the same (“homo” = same, “phono” = sound), even though they mean different things and are spelled differently.
Weather When we talk about the “weather”, we’re talking about if it is raining, or hot or cold. Some things you would say about the weather are: - “The weather has been really bad this week. It’s been raining every day.” - “The football game was cancelled because of bad weather” Whether The word “whether” is often used to show a choice between two things. There are many different ways to use this word:- “Ask Tim whether he would like to go to the movies.” – in this case “or not” is implied (meant but not said)
- “Do you know whether Tim has gone home or if he is still in class?”
- “We will play our football match whether it rains or shines”
If you get confused, just remember that “rain” is a type of weather, and both have an “a” in them! Try These Activities Think you’ve got whether and weather down? See if you can put the correct word into these sentences.
- I don’t know _________to have a burger or a pizza for lunch.
- Have you seen the _____report for this week? It’s going to rain until Saturday!
- Do you know ________ the _________ is supposed to clear up before the weekend? (Quick English)