Expressing alternatives
Jul. 27th, 2022 19:56![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elidelioEveryone knows the typical question format:
你需要這個還是那個？Do you need this one or that one?
When used in statement form, switch 還是 for 或者 and you're golden:
Ta-da! Easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl.
But I recently came across another way to give alternative options that I wouldn't have guessed at first glance, but now that I know how it's used it makes perfect sense:
The "不是... 就是..." format works a little bit like 或者 in the sense that it can be used when given two options:
我們不是去看電影就是去咖啡廳。We either go watch a movie or to a café.
我們或者去看電影或者去咖啡廳。We can either go watch a movie or go to a café.
The sentences mean the same, but the vibes are different, in essence. With "不是... 就是...", those are the only two options; if it's not A, then it has to be B. Maybe you're out on a date, and everything else is closed except for the cinema or a coffee shop, or maybe those are truly the only things that you want to do. With "或者" yes you are only being given two options, but they're not as absolute.
Of course, it also depends on context. But then again, what doesn't?
As always, I owe all my knowledge to the internet.
It's used pretty much in the same way as in english:
A 還是 B?
A or B?
你需要這個還是那個？Do you need this one or that one?
When used in statement form, switch 還是 for 或者 and you're golden:
她吃辣的或者甜的，都可以。She can eat spicy or sweet, either is fine.
A 或者 B
A or B
Ta-da! Easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl.
But I recently came across another way to give alternative options that I wouldn't have guessed at first glance, but now that I know how it's used it makes perfect sense:
At first, I thought it was "it's not A, it's B", but the key word here is 就 jiù. That word makes the format into what it is, without it, it would actually be "not A but (rather) B", like 不是 A (而)是 B.
不是 A 就是 B
If it's not A, then it's B
The "不是... 就是..." format works a little bit like 或者 in the sense that it can be used when given two options:
我們不是去看電影就是去咖啡廳。We either go watch a movie or to a café.
我們或者去看電影或者去咖啡廳。We can either go watch a movie or go to a café.
The sentences mean the same, but the vibes are different, in essence. With "不是... 就是...", those are the only two options; if it's not A, then it has to be B. Maybe you're out on a date, and everything else is closed except for the cinema or a coffee shop, or maybe those are truly the only things that you want to do. With "或者" yes you are only being given two options, but they're not as absolute.
Of course, it also depends on context. But then again, what doesn't?
As always, I owe all my knowledge to the internet.