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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Either ... or ...
Hello,
My native language isn't English, so I'm a little confused by the following case. I was writting some documentation and I wrote the following sentence (modified to not reveal the nature of what I am working on).
"A student will not be accepted if he failed either Math or English"
My reviewer sent me a comment saying "the student should not be accepted in the case where he failed both Math and English".
I was under the impression that "A will happen if either B or C are true" meant that:
A will happen if only B is true.
A will happen if only C is true.
A will happen if both B and C are true.
However, my reviewer insists that "a will happen if either B or C are true" does not include the case where both B and C are true. I could write it as "A student will not be accepted if he failed Math and/or English", but I've read that "and/or" should not be used because "or" already includes "and". I'm not sure if the word "either" changes that.
Thank you for your help!
My native language isn't English, so I'm a little confused by the following case. I was writting some documentation and I wrote the following sentence (modified to not reveal the nature of what I am working on).
"A student will not be accepted if he failed either Math or English"
My reviewer sent me a comment saying "the student should not be accepted in the case where he failed both Math and English".
I was under the impression that "A will happen if either B or C are true" meant that:
A will happen if only B is true.
A will happen if only C is true.
A will happen if both B and C are true.
However, my reviewer insists that "a will happen if either B or C are true" does not include the case where both B and C are true. I could write it as "A student will not be accepted if he failed Math and/or English", but I've read that "and/or" should not be used because "or" already includes "and". I'm not sure if the word "either" changes that.
Thank you for your help!
Top answer
You're right; your reviewer is wrong.
- You're right; your reviewer is wrong.
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5 Answers
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OK
Suppose the student fails English. It's the same as if he had failed Math. It makes no difference if he failed or passed Math.
Anonymous"A student will not be accepted if he failed either Math or English"Suppose the student fails Math. According to your statement, he would not be accepted. It does not matter what grade he got in English.
Suppose the student fails English. It's the same as if he had failed Math. It makes no difference if he failed or passed Math.
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(original poster here)
I should rephrase that.
My reviewer sent me a comment saying "in addition, the student should not be accepted in the case where he failed both Math and English".
In other words, the reviewer agrees that the student should not be accepted if he fails just English or if he fails just Math, but he feels that my sentence does not say that the s
I should rephrase that.
My reviewer sent me a comment saying "in addition, the student should not be accepted in the case where he failed both Math and English".
In other words, the reviewer agrees that the student should not be accepted if he fails just English or if he fails just Math, but he feels that my sentence does not say that the s
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Hi,
It may help to consider what the institution wants.
The most likely interperetation is this.
They want students who are good at math and good at English.
Clive
It may help to consider what the institution wants.
The most likely interperetation is this.
They want students who are good at math and good at English.
Clive
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AnonymousIn other words, the reviewer agrees that the student should not be accepted if he fails just English or if he fails just Math, but he feels that my sentence does not say that the student should not be accepted if he fails both.Your reviewer is not correct. Your original says that the student should not be accepted if one or more of the following is
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