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Subject:if and when... From:Pat Madea <madea -at- MMSI -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 29 Jun 1995 16:04:56 MST
Techwr-lers,
I've checked the NYT MoS, the Chicago MoS, Webster's 10th Collegiate,
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, the Oxford American Dictionary, and a
few "writing" books trying to find the easy-to-remember-and-follow
rule of when to use "if" and when to use "when" <if?/when?> I use a
conditional clause.
I can almost get the sense of it but not enough to articulate the
difference between the two.
The following sentences,
"If a truck is in READY status, it is available for assignment."
"When a truck is in READY status, it is available for assignment."
convey different meanings. Or, do they?
I could use some help. (How about, "If and when a truck is ... " Just
joking.)
