266. Indicating Alternatives

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There is a wide variety of ways to show that something is an alternative

FEATURES OF ALTERNATIVES

An alternative is one of two or more possibilities that cannot operate together at the same moment. In some cases, one can be replaced by another at a different time, but in other cases, no change is ever possible. Compare:

ALTERNATIVES THAT CAN REPLACE EACH OTHER

(a) Language learners can discover a word’s meaning by guessing it or checking a dictionary.

ALTERNATIVES THAT CANNOT REPLACE EACH OTHER

(b) Other intelligent beings may or may not exist in the universe.

In (a), guessing and checking word meanings can each happen at a different time; but in (b), exist and not exist cannot – one will always be true, the other always false.

In the following, both types of alternative are understandable, depending on the purpose of the sentence:

(c) The engine uses petrol or electricity.

If this is an advertisement, it probably means that petrol and electricity are each usable by the engine at different times. On the other hand, as speculation or a guess it would probably be saying that the engine always uses just one fuel type but the speaker is not sure which.

This kind of double meaning is especially problematic in questions (Does the engine use…?), since each meaning requires a different answer type (see 301. Structures with a Double Meaning 5, #3). Answering with yes or no is only sometimes possible (see 297. Types of Response to a Question, #4).

The above examples name multiple alternatives and mark them as alternatives with or. It is also possible to name a single alternative, but with other marking language than or. Other marking language is also possible with multiple alternatives. If there is no marking language, multiple alternatives will be understood as co-occurring rather than alternatives, or as different names for the same thing, while single ones will be taken as unique possibilities.

This post is about the language choices that exist for the various kinds of alternative-naming. Since the primary alternative-naming word is the conjunction or, much of the relevant language could be considered synonyms of it, rather as much consequence language is synonyms of so (see 32. Expressing Consequences), and much exception language is synonyms of except (see 215. Naming Exceptions).

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LANGUAGE FOR INDICATING ALTERNATVES

1. “Either”

When indicating an alternative, this word may be a conjunction, determiner or pronoun. As a conjunction, it needs a later or (note that *or…or… is never possible). Both either and or need the usual partners of a conjunction: a following subject + verb. However, if both of these are the same, one can be left unmentioned but understood (see 64. Double Conjunctions):

(d) EITHER dollars (will be accepted) OR pounds (will be accepted).

In one special case, either is grammatically replaceable by whether:

(e) Please write clearly, either/whether in ink or (in) pencil.

Here, either and or are followed by adverb-like phrases rather than statements or other phrase types. I think either is used in this situation to mark the alternatives as new information to the addressee, whereas whether assumes them to be already known (see the end of 99. Meanings of “whether…or…”).

Adding either to or has at least two uses. One is to suggest that no more than two possibilities exist (though some writers mention more with further uses of or). The other is to emphasise the fact that alternatives are being given. One reason for doing this is that or by itself can indicate the opposite of an alternative – that two expressions are different names or descriptions of the same thing (see 286. Repeating in Different Words, #4).

When either is a determiner, it precedes a noun in an adjective-like way but cannot have the or a(n) before it (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”). No subsequent or is possible. In the following, a choice is indicated about change:

(f) Payment can be in euros or yen. Change will be given in either currency.

Here, currency refers back to the earlier idea euros or yen. Reference to two things outside the sentence (not necessarily alternatives there) seems necessary for the determiner use. The pronoun either acts similarly. The main difference with it is that it has no directly-following noun. It can, however, combine with a later noun after of the (either of the currencies: see 160. Uses of “of”, #5).

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2. Modal Verbs

All of the modal verbs except will and must can imply the existence of one or more alternatives (see 237. Auxiliary Verbs in Professional Communication, #12). When they do so, the particular modal verb used indicates how strong a possibility its action is compared to the possibility of the unmentioned alternative(s).

For example, payment can be in euros can be indicating that payment in euros is equally as possible as alternatives. May does the same, but could and might suggest the alternatives are more possible and should that they are less so.

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3. “If”

If always indicates that the information after it is one of alternative possibilities. This is because it fundamentally signals a cause that may or may not occur (see 118. Problems with Conditional “if”). As with modal verbs, the other possibilities do not have to be mentioned explicitly: if just one is mentioned, the other(s) will still be implied:

(g) If the solution turns red, the test will be positive.

Here, if says that the solution becoming red will not necessarily happen – in other words that there is an alternative, which is not turning red. If this alternative did not exist, the sentence would have to start with when instead of if.

The nature of the alternative to turning red in (g) is not stated explicitly because it is fairly obvious. However, there are situations where explicitness is necessary, and the language that is especially common then is but if… for same-sentence continuation, or, in new sentences, if not, alternatively or however, if (see #7 below).

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4. Nouns

Nouns that most obviously convey the idea of “alternative” are alternative and possibility. A common use is with BE:

(h) X is an alternative (or a possibility).

(i) X, Y and Z are alternatives/possibilities.

(j) X might happen. Y is an alternative.

In sentences like (h), an alternative can be followed by the preposition to + name of the opposite alternative. If this opposite is a verb, it needs -ing (see 35. Words Followed by “to -ing”). In the combination the alternative of -ing, the -ing verb identifies what the alternative is.

In combinations like (j), where alternatives are named in adjacent sentences, possibility must be used slightly differently from alternative: with either also (…is also a possibility), or …too or another (….is another possibility). For more on possibility, see 181. Expressing Possibility). For more about nouns linking with a previous sentence, see 112. Synonyms of Connectors.

Possibility may be replaceable by a different noun when it represents certain types of alternative. For example, option and choice can refer to future alternatives.

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5. “One”

This word always implies the idea of “others exist” (see 263. Uses of “One” and “Ones”), but to indicate the idea of “alternative” it must also imply availability of those others. There is no such implication in some of one’s uses – for example when it is a number, where it means “not more” – but there is one when it suggests random choice:

(k) World poverty must be eradicated. One approach is to…

Here, multiple approaches are implied to exist, and the mentioned one is not necessarily being singled out as better, easier or more obtainable than the others – it could be just an example or the start of a list.

When one is introducing multiple alternatives, each of the subsequent alternatives will generally be in its own sentence(s) with its own alternative-showing expression, analogous to or between alternatives in the same sentence. This expression is usually (an)other (see 122. Signpost Words in Multi-Sentence Listing).

 

6. Adjectives

Alternative is usable as an adjective only before a noun that it describes – it cannot follow it separated by a link verb like BE in the way the similarly-spelt noun in (h) can (see 184. Adjectives with Limited Mobility, #4). Like or, it cannot accompany mention of a single alternative: one or more others must be explicit rather than implied. Thus, an alternative solution must either follow a sentence mentioning a different possible solution or precede a to phrase doing so:

(l) Wages may be increased by legislation. An alternative solution is to offer subsidies.

Another adjective with similar uses and restrictions is different.

An adjective that can mark a lone idea as an alternative is possible. It may go in either of the two main adjective positions:

(m) Subsidies are a possible solution to (or possible for solving) the problem of low wages.

Possible is also usable with mention of multiple alternatives. The use in (m) can indicate the first of these, but to indicate later ones, as in (l), (an)other must be added (Another possible solution is…).

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7. Connectors

Connectors are adverb-like expressions that highlight a meaning created by placing two sentences together (see 18. Relations between Sentences). The main alternative-indicating one is alternatively. It must accompany a second or later of mentioned alternatives, in the manner of or.

Three other connectors, otherwise, if not and then again, can sometimes replace alternatively. Otherwise and if not introduce an alternative that has been implied to exist by an earlier if sentence, such as (g) above. They indicate that no other alternatives exist. If they do, the combination however, if… (note the separating comma) must be used instead. Then again is especially common after a speculation sentence, typified by the following use of may:

(n) The weather may be fine. Then again, there may be a shower.

Also worth mentioning, because of its resemblance to connectors, is the sequence sometimes (alternative 1). Sometimes (alternative 2). The separating punctuation is variably a full stop, semi-colon or comma. The use seems especially common in descriptive writing, and is only possible with alternatives that can replace each other, as in (a) above.

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8. Verbs

Three common verbs that obviously indicate alternatives are CHOOSE, OPT FOR and PICK. All allow a single alternative to be named as their object (e.g. picked a suitable strategy), while CHOOSE also allows two alternatives to be named after a following between (choose between X and Y), and more than two after among. For information about the spelling of CHOOSE in its different forms, see 97. Verb Form Confusions.

In addition, HAVE is usable with one of the nouns listed above in #4, e.g. had the option of…. Of is the usual means of naming the alternative, though a to verb is necessary in the fixed expression have no alternative but to….

265. The Importance of Grammar in Writing

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A strong command of grammar gives writing much more than just grammatical accuracy.

GRAMMAR KNOWLEDGE AND GOOD WRITING

A look at some of the numerous publications that offer advice on expository writing will soon show that extensive grammatical knowledge, though recognised as important for successful writing, is given relatively little attention. The main value of it that tends to be highlighted is often just the avoidance of linguistic and stylistic errors.

This post is about the importance of grammatical knowledge for other aspects of expository writing besides linguistic and stylistic accuracy (these latter being the focus of most of the rest of this blog!). By “grammatical knowledge” I mean not understanding of technical names like “clause” or “subjunctive”, but ability to use, consciously or not, a wide variety of grammatical forms and structures of English without systematic error.

Aspects of good writing that extensive grammatical knowledge might facilitate are surprisingly numerous. However, they usually seem linked to grammatical knowledge in the same way: through the skill of paraphrasing. The dependence of paraphrasing on grammatical knowledge – rather than on ability to find word synonyms – is highlighted in detail elsewhere in this blog in 80. How to Paraphrase.

Paraphrase is often presented in Academic English courses solely as a means of legitimately transferring information from a source text to one’s own writing – i.e. as a means of avoiding “plagiarism”. There is something on this use within these pages in 76. Tenses of Citation Verbs. The way it assists other aspects of good writing is by being applied to the writer’s own wording rather than someone else’s, just as it is in speech (see 202. Some Strategies for Learning English, Practice Strategy #2).  The following sections are about exactly how this kind of paraphrase – with the grammatical knowledge it depends on – facilitates particular aspects of good writing.

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WRITING FEATURES FACILITATED BY PARAPHRASE

1. Appropriate Sentence Length

Sentences can vary from long and complicated to short and simple, just as paragraphs can (see 59. Paragraph Length). Moreover, they seem, like paragraphs, to be subject to fashions concerning the average length. A look at expository writing today will usually show a preference for variety but with shorter lengths predominating. A century or more ago, however, expository writing tended to have longer, more complex sentences.

A clear possibility, if fashion affects sentence length, is that both the number and the locations of full stops in a particular text can be altered – information can be moved between sentences. This idea contradicts the traditional view of a sentence as a “complete thought”, but is easily shown to be true. Consider this:

(a) Plants produce carbohydrates. They use sunlight.

The two ideas (“thoughts”) here can be expressed in a single longer sentence by changing the underlined part into using, or by adding and, or by starting with when.

It would not be possible just to change the full stop into a comma because that would be ungrammatical, the rule being that two finite verbs in the same sentence (produce, use) need a “joining device” (see 30. When to Write a Full Stop). The -ing (participle) form using is a joining device, as are the conjunctions when and and. They is not one.

Changing a verb into a noun, or a noun into a verb, is another common way of manipulating sentence length. The two sentences in (a), for example, could become one by using production instead of produce in some such beginning as Plants’ production of carbo-hydrates… (see 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns, #1).

As all this shows, grammatical rules determine what is and is not a sentence, so that changing the length of a sentence requires a good knowledge of them.

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2. Repetition Control

To repeat is to express a particular meaning more than once, with or without changed wording. Repeated meanings can vary in length from a single word to multiple sentences. Repetition in the same expository text has various legitimate uses, but there are also types that should be avoided, such as overuse of the same word(s), overuse of the same grammatical structure, and statement repetition with unmodified wording (see 24. Good and Bad Repetition).

To avoid excessive word repetition, the main grammatical knowledge required is how to make alternative wording fit grammatically into the same context. If this wording has the same grammatical properties as the wording it replaces, grammatical changes are not usually necessary, but wording with different properties, necessitating new surrounding grammar, is quite often necessary. Consider this:

(a) Smith complains that high taxes reduce the incentive to work, while Jones complains that low taxes divide society.

One synonym of complains that might effectively remove the repetition here is criticises. However, it cannot combine with that (see 279. Grammatical Differences between Citation Verbs). To use it after Jones, one would have to write something like criticises low taxes by saying they…. For more word pairs like this, see 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar 1.

Repetition of statements rather than words is often for reminding or clarifying. The first of these can imply poor text organization if not worded suitably. An especially useful expression is as mentioned earlier added as a parenthesis (see 183. Statements between Commas). Repetition for clarifying can also be signalled by special wording, most notably in other words (see 286. Repeating in Different Words, #6).

Repetition of a particular grammatical structure is the kind whose avoidance most obviously depends on grammatical knowledge. Avoidance is usually achieved by using a different structure with the same meaning. Most English structures have such alternatives – indeed the need to avoid repetition is probably a major reason why alternatives exist.

One example is -ing as an alternative to both repetitive and (see 210. Process Descriptions, #4) and monotonous successions of imperative verbs (see 128. Imperative Verbs in Formal Writing, #1). Another is nouns corresponding to question words, e.g. reason (= why) and way (= how) (see 185. Noun Synonyms of Question Words). There are numerous other examples of structural paraphrase throughout this blog: see, for example, 1. Simple Example-Giving,  149. Saying How Things are Similar and 199. Importance and Unimportance.

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3. Conciseness

This means using the fewest possible words to say something. It minimises the time needed to read a text, and is more likely to keep the reader interested. It can be valuable when a text has a prescribed word limit.

Conciseness is not always achieved through language knowledge. Other knowledge types are needed, for example, to avoid irrelevant, redundant or gratuitous information. There is one conciseness requirement, however, that is firmly language-based: paraphrasing with fewer words. Although vocabulary knowledge is sometimes more important here – e.g. familiarity with prefixes (see 146. Some Important Prefix Types) and word-reducing synonyms like suffice for be enough – grammar knowledge has a major role too.

One relevant aspect of grammar – omissible words – is considered in some detail elsewhere in this blog in 158. Abbreviated Sentences (#1). The main subcategories are words that can be “ellipted” (dropped but still indicated by the context), and optional grammatical words, such as that in some uses or in order before to.

Another area of grammar that can be used to reduce a word count is synonymous structures. Prepositions are especially easy to remove by this means (see 205. Paraphrasing Prepositions with Words of Other Kinds). Those used between two nouns – as in the sun AT midday or the estuary OF the Nile – disappear just through reversal of the nouns (the midday sun, the Nile estuary: see 136. Types of Description by Nouns).

Prepositions within “prepositional” verbs (e.g. ASK FOR, LOOK LIKE) are removable through the use of synonymous one-word verbs (REQUEST, RESEMBLE), though this often makes the style more formal (see 108. Formal & Informal Words). Preposition-like adverbs within “phrasal” verbs (e.g. BRING IN) are similarly removable (INTRODUCE).

Yet more removable prepositions make adverb phrases equating to single adverbs. For example, with ease is sometimes replaceable by easily (see 85. Preposition Phrases & Corresponding Adverbs).

The relative pronoun what (= the thing which) is a different kind of removable word. In phrases like what computers suggest, what and the verb may be replaceable by a single noun (suggestions) placed directly after the verb’s subject: computer suggestions. The combination what + BE + adjective, e.g. what is difficult, can become a single noun, e.g. the difficulty (see the end of 102. Adjectives with no Noun 2). For more on what, see 200. Special Uses of Relative Clauses, #4.

As a final example, if the wording after a question word (direct or indirect) contains can or should, the question may be reducible to just the question word and a to (infinitive) verb (see 105. Questions with a “to” Verb).

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4. Appropriate Style

The style of expository writing is the language (grammar, vocabulary, sequencing) that typifies it (see 166. Appropriacy in Professional English). Much of it is vocabulary – e.g. obtain rather than get, or large for big – but grammar is involved too.

Noticeable grammatical features of expository writing include a greater than average use of passive verb forms and avoidance of “personal” I and you and their derivatives (me, we, your, yours etc.). The grammatical knowledge needed for the latter in particular is extensive (see 46. How to Avoid “I”, “We” and “You”). Other features are rarity of direct questions, necessitating a command of indirect questions (see 57. Indirect Questions in Formal Writing), and extensive use of “connectors” – however, therefore etc. – instead of conjunctions (see 40. Conjunctions versus Connectors).

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5. Euphony

This means wording that does not sound unpleasant. Various aspects of language can sound unpleasant, including sounds (e.g. repetitious combinations like various areas), rhythm (e.g. irregular patterns of stressed syllables), and structures (e.g. too many short sentences). All of these can sometimes be avoided through a grammatical change. Consider the following sound repetition:

(b) The injustice that that law had caused was ended.

This is not word repetition because the first that is a pronoun, the second an adjective-like “determiner” (see 234. Adjective and Pronoun Uses of “that”). One way to avoid the repetition is to say instead The injustice caused by that law…: using the passive of CAUSE instead of the active.

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6. Clarity

A major obstacle to clarity is ambiguity: wording that can be understood in more than one way. A simple example is the to (infinitive) form of verbs, which sometimes expresses a purpose and sometimes does not.

Grammar knowledge enables ambiguity to be recognised and corrected. If to is intended to express a purpose, this meaning can be more clearly expressed with in order to instead. Similarly, with after comparison, which could introduce either a compared idea or something used for facilitating the comparison, could become using to convey the latter unambiguously. For multiple further examples in this blog of potential ambiguity, see 124. Structures with a Double Meaning 1.

Emphatic structures too can show an intended meaning more clearly. For example, starting a sentence with it or what can clearly highlight its key information (see 190. Special Uses of “it”, #3).