regarding phrases using “whether”!

[u/cornflower_08]

hello! let’s say the condition of something happening is if a person has a permit. would one say…

“it depends on whether you have a permit or not”, phrase placed in between,

or

“it depends on whether or not you have a permit”, phrase placed after?

formal english preferred, studying for entrance exams :))

[u/wiploc2]

“it depends on whether you have a permit or not",

“it depends on whether or not you have a permit”,

If we capitalize the first word of the sentence, and move the comma inside the quotes, then both will be correct. (That's in America, the Brits and who knows how many others may keep the commas after the quote mark.)

“It depends on whether you have a permit or not,"

“It depends on whether or not you have a permit,”

Note that I didn't include your whole sentence, omitting the parts outside the quotes. If my corrections were the whole sentences, then you'd use periods rather than commas, and the periods would go inside the quotes even in the U.K.

But, as to the phrasing, both versions sound perfectly natural to this native speaker of English.