doubt if, that, whether

doubt if, that, whether
 Idiom demands some selectivity in the choice of conjunction to introduce a clause after doubt and doubtful. The rule is simple: Doubt that should be reserved for negative contexts ("There is no doubt that.. ."; "It was never doubtful that.. .") and interrogative ones ("Do you have any doubt that... ?"; "Was it ever doubtful that... ?"). Whether or if should be used in all others ("I doubt if he will come"; "It is doubtful whether the rain will stop").

Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors. 2013.

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  • doubt if, that, whether —    Idiom demands some selectivity in the choice of conjunction to introduce a clause after doubt and doubtful. The rule is simple: doubt that should be reserved for negative contexts ( There is no doubt that. . . ; It was never doubtful that …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • doubt — I n. 1) to raise (a) doubt (her proposal raised serious doubts in my mind) 2) to cast doubt on 3) to feel doubt; to entertain, harbor doubts about 4) to express, voice (a) doubt 5) to dispel, resolve a doubt 6) a deep, serious, strong; gnawing;… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • doubt — doubt1 [ daut ] noun count *** a feeling of not being certain about something: doubt about/as to: There seems to be some doubt as to whether this is legal. have no/little doubt that: I have no doubt that he will succeed. there is little/no doubt… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • doubt — doubt1 W1S1 [daut] n 1.) [U and C] a feeling of being not sure whether something is true or right ▪ Ally was confident that we would be ready on time, but I had my doubts . doubt about ▪ Elizabeth had no doubts at all about his ability to do the… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • doubt — I UK [daʊt] / US noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms doubt : singular doubt plural doubts *** a feeling of not being certain about something doubt about/as to: There seems to be some doubt as to whether this is legal. have no/little doubt… …   English dictionary

  • doubt — doubtable, adj. doubtably, adv. doubter, n. doubtingly, adv. doubtingness, n. /dowt/, v.t. 1. to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe. 2. to distrust. 3. Archaic. to fear; be apprehensive about. v.i. 4 …   Universalium

  • doubt — 1 /daUt/ noun 1 UNCERTAIN FEELING (C, U) a feeling or feelings of being uncertain about something (+ about/as to): Maisie expressed private doubts about Lawrence s sanity. (+ whether/who/what etc): There s no doubt who was responsible for this… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • doubt — [[t]daʊt[/t]] v. t. 1) to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely 2) to distrust 3) archaic to fear 4) to be uncertain 5) a feeling of uncertainty 6) distrust or suspicion 7) a situation causing uncertainty • beyond (a or the shadow …   From formal English to slang

  • doubt — n. & v. n. 1 a feeling of uncertainty; an undecided state of mind (be in no doubt about; have no doubt that). 2 (often foll. by of, about) an inclination to disbelieve (have one s doubts about). 3 an uncertain state of things. 4 a lack of full… …   Useful english dictionary

  • whether */*/*/ — UK [ˈweðə(r)] / US [ˈweðər] / US [ˈhweðər] conjunction Collocations: Both whether and if can be used to introduce indirect questions of the type that expect a yes/no answer: She asked if/whether I liked jazz. Use whether, but not if, before an… …   English dictionary

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