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Wangqh2696122 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Can we say "make sure if-"?

Is the following sentence grammatically and logically correct?

A: How about buying Sam a mobile phone? After all, he is not a boy any more.
B: I think it necessary, for we sometimes want to make sure if he will come home for dinner.
  

Top answer

You have mixed registers. A: How about buying Sam a mobile phone? After all, he's not a boy any more.

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1 Answers
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You have mixed registers.

A: How about buying Sam a mobile phone? After all, he's not a boy any more.
B: Yes, and we sometimes want to make sure he's coming home for dinner.

'Make sure whether' is marginally more 'logical' than 'make sure if', but neither holds up well under scrutiny.