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Lcwang Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

or vs and

0Please advise which of the following is correct. If both are Ok, is there any difference in meaning?02br
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00I don't like reaing and writing.02br
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00I don't like reaing or writing.0-
  

Top answer

0 01blockquote 01cite 10Lcwang12cite 10Please advise which of the following is correct. If both are Ok, is there any difference in meaning? 12b 10] indicates "substandard" and [11b 10o12b 10] does "formally correct".

— Paco2004

  • 0 01blockquote 01cite 10Lcwang12cite 10Please advise which of the following is correct.
  • If both are Ok, is there any difference in meaning?
  • 12b 10] indicates "substandard" and [11b 10o12b 10] does "formally correct".
  • 12br 12br 10paco12br 12br 12blockquote 1-
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6 Answers
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Lcwang12cite10Please advise which of the following is correct. If both are Ok, is there any difference in meaning? 12br
12br
10I don't like reaing and writing.12br
12br
10I don't like reaing or writing.10I checked on Google12br
10 1) I don't like Bush or Kerry 1770 [1
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0Interesting. "I don't like Bush or Kerry" seems fine to me!02br
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00MrP02br
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00PS "I don't like Bush and Kerry" suggests that there's a close connection between Bush and Kerry: it implies that you can treat them as a whole. Cf. "I don't like eggs and bacon", "I don't like Mr and Mrs Jones", "I don't like Kerry and Edwards", "I don't like Bush and C
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0Mr P02br
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00Thanks for the nice follow-up. But somehow I feel uneasy with "I don't like A or B" without "either".02br
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00paco0-
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0Hello Paco02br
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00Does it seem uncomfortable to you where alternatives are offered, too? e.g.02br
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001. Would you like coffee or tea?02br
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00MrP0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10MrPedantic12cite10Would you like coffee or tea?12blockquote
10It's quite comfortable to me especially when it is uttered by a woman much younger than my wife, and in such a case I always answer politely "Coffee, please", otherwise only "Coffee".02br
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00paco 0-
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0 The word "or" is fine because in that particular sentence it's inclusive rather than exclusive. 02br
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00I'm kind of curious (confused?) about using the word "either" however. I know that "I don't like either reading or writing" means in this case that I don't like both reading and writing; but the use of the word "either" normally indicates a strong disjunction, whereas
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