@AIQ If an esoteric forum such as this can't break away from their microscopic focus on the written word long enough to address the human condition then it hardly serves a platform because all language stems from humankind's need to express their humanity.
Hey all, is this correct in terms of the punctuation at the end?
> The objective was to find out if the program was working effectively for all Canadians, and if not, then why?
No, there shouldn't be a question mark.
Ah okay more complicated now ...
> The objective was to find out if the policy was working effectively and equitably for all Canadians, and if not, then why, and how it could be improved.
Let's look at simpler example -
Try to finish at least 10 chapters from that book, if not all.
This means if all chapters are not possible, try to finish at least 10.
That smell (from a rotten thing) can cause nausea, if not vomiting
This means that that smell is likely to cause vomi...
Lighted upon this
This answer is weak, if not incorrect.
A couple of other answers combined plus snailplane and some of JR's comments would make for a good answer
"if not" in my sentence is a third type of use ... because it doesn't qualify "the objective" as in "the objective was X, if not Y" - it's "and if the policy was not working effectively and equitably for all Canadians, then why?"
@AIQ Yeah. Your sentence just reminded me of that Q&A. I vaguely recalled seeing a new post under that. So I decided to revisit the post and found the accepted answer kind of disappointing if not unacceptable.
But ofc your use of the phrase is different. "If not" has many meanings.
Let's look at simpler example -
Try to finish at least 10 chapters from that book, if not all.
This means if all chapters are not possible, try to finish at least 10.
That smell (from a rotten thing) can cause nausea, if not vomiting
This means that that smell is likely to cause vomi...
Language Overflow
Language Overflow