158 CHAPTER 4. PARTICLES
choices in this way means offering people this kind of logical ’or’ choice:
A:
B:A: ”Will (you) have coffee, or tea?”
B: ”Coffee, please.”A:
B:A: ”Will you have coffee or tea?”
B: ”No, I think right something cold (literally, ’a cold drink’) would
be nicer.”This can potentially lead to confusion, or seemingly incomplete an-
swers:
A:
B:A: ”Will you go by train, or by bus?”
B: ”By bus.”A:
B:A: ”Will you go by train or bus?”
B: ”Yes.”The key here is that the answer is actually not incomplete given
the question asked. An ”[X] [Y]” question is a yes or no question, and
so there is no obligation to give any more information than what is be-
ing asked for. The real confusion often comes from beginning students of
Japanese who preĴy much immediately forget that using in this fashion
only applies to the logical connective ’or’, instead deciding to just remem-
ber that it can mean ’or’, and using it in sentence that ask for specific choice
answers.
It therefore deserves extra warning: try to avoid using in this way
until you’ve developed a good grasp of the Japanese language.