I agree with Dick Veit's assessment. I also don't like sound of 'He wanted
to know if it rained' under the reading 'if it rained' is object of
'know', not the condition under which he wanted to know something else.
I feel like I would use 'whether' or 'if it had rained or not' or
something. But these constructions are changing. Notably, the past perfect
is being lost.


On Mon, 3 May 1999, Dick Veit, UNCW English wrote:

> >Do you consider "if" and "because" to be coordinating or subordinating
> conjunctions?
>
>
> "Because" is a subordinating conjunction, but "if" can have two distinct
> roles:
>
> (1) "If" is sometimes a subordinating conjunction, introducing an adverbial
> clause:
>
>         We'll have a picnic if the rain stops.
>
> Like other adverbials, adverbial clauses can be moved to precede the main
> clause:
>
>         If the rain stops, we'll have a picnic.
>
> (2) "If" can also be a complementizer (complementizing conjunction),
> introducing a complement clause:
>
>         I wonder if the rain will stop.
>
> Here the "if" clause acts as the direct object of the sentence.  "That" and
> "whether" are two other complementizers.
>
> -Richard Veit
> UNCW English Department
>
>

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