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DouglasM6 Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?

0Depending on the tone of the spoken question, this can mean:02br
02br
00"Would you like a cup of something to drink?" 02br
02br
00If the answer is yes, then further questioning is required to ascertain which drink is desired.02br
02br
00Alternatively, the question as spoken could presuppose a "yes" answer and could be asking which which drink is desired.02br
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001. In written English, to avoid ambiguity, what is the most succinct way to express the exclusive "or", ie "one or the other, but not both"? 02br
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002. In written English, to avoid ambiguity, what is the most succinct way to express the inclusive "or", ie "one or the other, or both"?02br
02br
00Any ideas?02br
02br
00Doug0-
  

Top answer

0 1. 02br 002. 0-

— The17pointscale

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12 Answers
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0 1. Would you 01font00prefer 02font00a cup of coffee or tea?02br
002. Nothing is striking me that is particularly succinct.0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10The17pointscale12cite101. Would you 11font10prefer 12font10a cup of coffee or tea?12br
12blockquote
10To which I would reply, 'Yes, I would prefer one or the other.'02br
02br
00The meaning is conveyed by the tone of 01i00spoken
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0
0So then02br
02br
00'xor' would mean the 'exclusive or'.02br
02br
00'or' would mean the 'inclusive or'.02br
02br
00How 'bout it?0-
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0Tricky stuff.02br
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00Either...or is normally seen as exclusive disjunction.02br
02br
00EG02br
02br
01i00Either I will go swimming or see a movie.02i00 (I can also choose to do neither.)02br
02br
00But, in some contexts, either...or can be read as inclusive disjunction:02br
02br
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0 In my opinion, when considering disjunctions, context is much more important to determining whether an "or" is inclusive or exclusive than the presence or absence of an "either." 0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10DouglasM612cite10So then12br
12br
10'xor' would mean the 'exclusive or'.12br
12br
10'or' would mean the 'inclusive or'.12br
12br
10How 'bout it?12br
12br
12blockquote
10An exclusive OR is often called an 01i00XOR02i
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0Would you like a cup of tea or coffee? - offering02br
02br
00Did you want tea or coffee? has to be said carefully to avoid sounding rude but makes the assumption that a drink is wanted.02br
02br
00Was it tea or coffee you wanted? as above02br
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00Tea or coffee? Very clear that a drink is wanted and just offering the choice of which.
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0 Waiter: «Tea or сoffee?»02br
00Petya: «Coffee.»02br
00Waiter: «Ha! You didn't guess it. Tea!» 0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Ant_22212cite10Waiter: «Tea or coffee?» Petya: «Coffee.» Waiter: «Ha! You didn't guess it. Tea!»12blockquote
10 Perhaps: 02br
00 Ha! 01font00Wrong guess02font00. Tea!0-
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0 Sounds better! But is my version that bad? 0-
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