Difference between revisions of "Expressing "either... or..." with "yaome""

Revision as of 07:17, 13 June 2013

You can give a series of alternatives by using 要么. The structure is pretty versatile, as you can put a wide variety of things after each 要么:

要么 + [option A] + 要么 + [option B]

Firstly, you can use an adverbial (extra information about the verb such as time, manner or place). Some examples:

Secondly, different objects can be given as options:

Different subjects also work:

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 <div class="liju">
-* 你 <strong>要么</strong> <em>今天</em> 过来 ，<strong>要么</strong> <em>后天</em> 过来 。
+* 你 <strong>要么</strong> <em>今天</em> 过来 ，<strong>要么</strong> <em>后天</em> 过来 。<span class="trans">You can either come back today or the day after tomorrow.</span>
-* 咱们 <em>要么</em> 说 汉语，<em>要么</em> 就 别 说话。
+* 咱们 <em>要么</em> 说 汉语，<em>要么</em> 就 别 说话。<span class="trans">We'll either speak Chinese or another language.</span>
 </div>
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 <div class="liju">
-* 我们 <strong>要么</strong> 喝 <em>葡萄酒</em>，<strong>要么</strong> 喝 <em>啤酒</em>。
+* 我们 <strong>要么</strong> 喝 <em>葡萄酒</em>，<strong>要么</strong> 喝 <em>啤酒</em>。<span class="trans">We either drink wine or we drink beer.</span>
 </div>
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 <div class="liju">
-* <strong>要么</strong> <em>你</em> 去，<strong>要么</strong> <em>我</em> 去。
+* <strong>要么</strong> <em>你</em> 去，<strong>要么</strong> <em>我</em> 去。<span class=
+trans">Either you go or I go.</span>
 </div>