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Is this grammatically correct: "The monkey who I'm wondering if can see my ears." (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by SeahorseTreble@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

29 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Or is it "The monkey for whom I'm wondering if they can see my ears."

"The monkey, regarding whom, I'm wondering if they can see my ears."

"The monkey who I'm wondering if they can see my ears."

All of them sound stupid.

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[–] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm wondering if the monkey can see my ears.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

if

whether

[–] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Whether would be used if you ask 'whether the monkey can see my ears or not' i.e. when there are 2 stated options.

[–] jbrains@sh.itjust.works 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

There is an implicit binary choice here, so "whether" fits. Both work, although I, for one, prefer to use "whether" for binary choices and "if" when there are more options. This is similar to my preference for "between" only for two things and "among" for more than two.