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Kuwakodono Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Alternate vs. Alternative

0 I had a question on the usage of alternate vs. alternative from an overseas friend which I had a difficult time answering. There are cases where the words are used as adjectives where one should be used over the other, but are there any general rules for this? In particular, in a sentence such as "We may need to seek an alternate/alternative supplier if your company cannot support our needs", does it matter which is used? 0-
  

Top answer

0 01i 00Webster's Dictionary of English Usage02i 00 has these (and more) comments: 02br 01blockquote 01b 10alternate, alternative,12b 10 11i 10adjectives12i 10 The adjectives 11i 10alternate12i 10 and 11i 10alternative12i 10, say many commentators, are often confused; they advise keeping them separate. The senses recommended are "occuring or succeeding by turns" for 11i 10alternate12i 10, and "offering or expressing a choice" for 11i 10alternative12i 10. 12br 10...

— Rvw

  • 0 01i 00Webster's Dictionary of English Usage02i 00 has these (and more) comments: 02br 01blockquote 01b 10alternate, alternative,12b 10 11i 10adjectives12i 10 The adjectives 11i 10alternate12i 10 and 11i 10alternative12i 10, say many commentators, are often confused; they advise keeping them separate.
  • The senses recommended are "occuring or succeeding by turns" for 11i 10alternate12i 10, and "offering or expressing a choice" for 11i 10alternative12i 10.
  • 12br 10...
  • 12br 10The evidence in the Merriam-Webster files shows this curious tendency: 11i 10alternative12i 10 is becoming more and more a noun, and the adjective appears to be in the process of being replaced (at least in American English) by 11i 10alternate12i 10.
  • Except in botany, the adjective 11i 10alternate12i 10 in its sense "by turns" is giving way to the verb 11i 10alternate12i 10 and its participle 11i 10alternating12i 10.
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10 Answers
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0 01i00Webster's Dictionary of English Usage02i00 has these (and more) comments: 02br
01blockquote
01b10alternate, alternative,12b10 11i10adjectives12i10 The adjectives 11i10alternate12i10 and 11i10alternative12i10, say many commentators, are often confused;
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0 'Alternative' seems stable in BrE. 02br
02br
00MrP 0-
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In the world of jazz the use of unfinished or unused outtakes when reissuing LPs as CDs has resulted in the use of the term "alternate takes". Many British writers avoid this usage preferring the more correct "alternative". It appears the battle is lost on the US side of the Atlantic and as far back as the early 1950s, in the movie "Twelve Angry Men", the judge says, "The alternate jurors may le
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Alternate is a verb - if something alternates between black and white it goes black, then white, then black, then white et cetera.

Alternative is a different word, a noun, with a completely different meaning.

The confusion of the two words in American English is an unfortunate but very common error which erodes the useful difference between the two words.

There are no r
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Interesting article on this: http://www.beedictionary.com/common-errors/alternate_vs_alternative
"Alternative" is the original, and in my opinion, correct word to use. "Alternate" has been introduced as an alternative (!) to "alternative" but looking at its original meaning, is not
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Anonymous If the word "alternate" is replacing "alternative" what would happen when one wishes to say, "I had no alternative but to leave"? Surely "I had no alternate but to leave" would be ludicrous.
The question here is whether to use alternate or alternative as an adjective. In your example, alternative is a noun. The Webster quote above says that alternati
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I completely agree with this analysis, but it still leaves the problem that if we allow the two adjectives to become synonymous then we lose the useful difference in meaning between the two words.
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I know better. So, I will continue to use the correct word, and not an alternative word! Keep it straight guys!
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Before the 16th century both words were incorrect English. Alternate made its way into English vocabulary around 1520 and alternative later in the same century. (RHUD)

CB
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Which word to use, matters depending on which kind of English you are using. Using "alternate" as an alternative for the word alternative, seems to be just in the American and Canadian varieties of English. It is actually wrong in the English of England and the rest of the UK, therefore it is not done.

You can use it if you are speaking or writing in the American or Canadian
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