Whether, weather, and wether

What's the difference? Whether weather wether

Whether, weather, and wether: what’s the difference? 
These words aren’t too hard, but they are easy to mix up when we are typing quickly. And since autocorrect and I do NOT get along, I’m always looking out for these words. 

The good news is, these words are homophones; meaning they all sound the same, even though they have different spellings.

1. whether = shows a doubt or choice between things

• I’m not sure whether it will rain tonight or not

We often say “weather or not”. “Or not” is not necessary. 
• Let’s see whether or not she’s home. 
• Let’s see whether she’s home. 

We can replace “whether” with “if”. 
• I want to know whether or not you’ll be at the meeting on Friday. 
• I want to know if you’ll be at the meeting on Friday or not

When we use “if” and “or not” we do not put them together. 
• Can you tell me whether the package is coming today or not
• Can you tell me if the package is coming today or not
• Can you tell me whether or not the package is coming today? 
X Can you tell me if or not the package is coming today? 

2. weather = rain, sunshine, wind, etc. in a time and place
• The weather is SO beautiful today. No clouds at all!
• I hope the weather clears up. I want to go to the beach. 

3. wether = a castrated ram
• We have a couple of wethers on our farm. 
•  Whoops! I typed “wether” instead of “weather”. 

You probably won’t need this last one, wether. I often find it in misspelled student papers or, honestly, in my own typing. I’m a fast but inaccurate typer and always on the look out for my own silly spelling mistakes. 

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