Pet peeves? The use of 'if' in place of 'whether'. "Can you tell me if it's going to rain today?" If 'if' is being used correctly, and the intended meaning is "If it's going to rain today, please tell me" then no reply is required if it will not rain. "Can you tell me whether it's going to rain today?" requires an yes/no answer ("yes, it will", or "no it won't", or even "I don't know") Ok. For pedants a yes/no answer could be answering the question "Can you tell me?" so may not actually answer the intended question.
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