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Niue Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
'and' vs. 'or'
Hi!
I read the following in a TOEIC book:
"119. The operator was not able to find the address ______ telephone number.
(A) or (B) although (C) but (D) even though
Answer: A" ((Longman TOEIC, p. 271, by Bruce Rogers))
I agree with the book that A is correct, but how about '(E) and'?
Do you think 'and' can be correct, too?
(Because 'and' is LESS COMMON than 'or' in the above sentence, I don't think 'and' is correct here.)
If you think so, what's the difference between "... find the address or telephone number" and "... find the address and telephone number"?
Thanks in advance.
I read the following in a TOEIC book:
"119. The operator was not able to find the address ______ telephone number.
(A) or (B) although (C) but (D) even though
Answer: A" ((Longman TOEIC, p. 271, by Bruce Rogers))
I agree with the book that A is correct, but how about '(E) and'?
Do you think 'and' can be correct, too?
(Because 'and' is LESS COMMON than 'or' in the above sentence, I don't think 'and' is correct here.)
If you think so, what's the difference between "... find the address or telephone number" and "... find the address and telephone number"?
Thanks in advance.
Top answer
"And" would not exactly be wrong there but it would change the meaning. Using "and" instead of "or" implies that both the address and telephone number are required whereas "or" suggests that any one of the two will suffice. Ex He couldn't find salt and pepper.
- "And" would not exactly be wrong there but it would change the meaning.
- Using "and" instead of "or" implies that both the address and telephone number are required whereas "or" suggests that any one of the two will suffice.
- Ex He couldn't find salt and pepper.
- ("or" doesn't really work here because it's obvious that you need both) The operator was not able to find the address or telephone number.
- ("and" implies that you need both (the address and number) but logically if you have one you can easily find the other so you really need only one of them; this is why "or" is the appropriate conjunction in that sentence )
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1 Answers
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"And" would not exactly be wrong there but it would change the meaning. Using "and" instead of "or" implies that both the address and telephone number are required whereas "or" suggests that any one of the two will suffice.
Ex
He couldn't find salt and pepper. ("or" doesn't really work here because it's obvious that you need both)
The operator was not able to find the ad
Ex
He couldn't find salt and pepper. ("or" doesn't really work here because it's obvious that you need both)
The operator was not able to find the ad
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