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I recently asked a question on this site and in that question I used "doesn't tell" twice:

I checked a similar question on this site, but that question doesn't tell the difference and doesn't tell why #1 is correct.

Can I merge "doesn't" into one and say this:

I checked a similar question on this site, but that question doesn't tell the difference and tell why #1 is correct. ?

Out of curiosity, can we merge "doesn't tell" into one and say this:

I checked a similar question on this site, but that question doesn't tell the difference and why #1 is correct. ?

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  • @ColleenV thank you for editing the tags. I completely forgot those terms and I had no other option than to use those overused tags.
    – Ayden Ferguson
    Commented Mar 4, 2021 at 16:31
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    Those answers don't explain the difference OR explain why #1 is correct, if you're going to "delete" the predictably repeated negating don't. Otherwise Those answers don't explain the difference AND don't explain why #1 is correct.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Mar 4, 2021 at 16:47
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    @FumbleFingers That was helpful, thank you so much for the help. Can I further omit "explain" and say "those answers don't explain the difference or why #1 is correct"?
    – Ayden Ferguson
    Commented Mar 5, 2021 at 8:34
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    That's a tricky one. Some people might accept it - but most probably wouldn't, and it's not easy to say exactly why. I will say the negation isn't what matters with that example though. It would be just the same with These answers explain the difference and why #1 is correct, which I'm afraid I can only describe as "clumsy". It could be "fixed" by including both before explain (which "emphasises" the verb, making it "strong enough" to survive not being explicitly repeated) AND/OR putting heavy stress on the word and (which has much the same effect).
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Mar 5, 2021 at 13:04
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    But your question there intrigue me. I'm tempted to ask on ELU to see if anyone there can give any kind of formal "explanation" as to why deleting the predictably repeated word explain in this context is so "problematic".
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Mar 5, 2021 at 13:09

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You can combine them, but the way you have it written sounds wrong because you used the wrong conjunction. It should be "I checked a similar question on this site, but that question doesn't tell the difference or why #1 is correct."

With "and," that means "it doesn't do both of these things" (but it could still do one or the other). With "or," it means "it doesn't do either of these things," which I believe is the meaning you were trying for.

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