Expressing "either... or..." with "yaome"

Revision as of 03:53, 2 July 2013 by Simingjie (talk | contribs)

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

Structure

要么 + [option A] + 要么 + [option B]

Examples

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

  • 要么 今天 过来 ,要么 后天 过来 。You can either come back today or the day after tomorrow.
  • 咱们 要么 说 汉语,要么 就 别 说话。We'll either speak Chinese or another language.

Secondly, different objects can be given as options:

  • 我们 要么葡萄酒要么啤酒We either drink wine or we drink beer.

Different subjects also work:

  • 要么 去,要么 去。Either you go or I go.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books