after preposition 'whether or if'

Hi, Deepcosmos,

@deepcosmos posted:

"But instead of simply looking at whether people grew up in hot or cold climates, the researchers took a more nuanced approach, looking at whether people grew up in milder climates, where temperatures are closer to about 71 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius), or if they lived in places with more extreme temperatures.“
* source; Could Climate Change Affect People’s Personalities?

I think the sentence above is faulty.

You are right about the need to use "whether," and the impossibility to use "if," after a preposition.

I think the "if" introducing the second coordinate clause within the object to the preposition "at" should also be "whether." According to Fowler in his Modern English Usage (page 696):

3. Whether is often repeated as a clearer pointer than a bare or to an alternative that forms a separate sentence. I cannot remember whether they were lowered into the street or whether there was a window opening out at the back.

@Gustavo, Co-Moderator posted:

Hi, Deepcosmos,

I think the sentence above is faulty.

You are right about the need to use "whether," and the impossibility to use "if," after a preposition.

I think the "if" introducing the second coordinate clause within the object to the preposition "at" should also be "whether." According to Fowler in his Modern English Usage (page 696):

3. Whether is often repeated as a clearer pointer than a bare or to an alternative that forms a separate sentence. I cannot remember whether they were lowered into the street or whether there was a window opening out at the back.

Hi, Gustavo!

You've always been helping me so much with explanation enough.

RGDS