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pr1ncejeffie
Joined: 07 Dec 2008
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 Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:16 pm Post subject: Grammar help |
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Hello all... need help with grammar. I can't explain this but I am positive it is wrong unless you guys tell me otherwise.
Don't shout, or he'll be angry. (I think this is right)
Don't shout, and he'll be angry. (A textbook said this is right)
The teacher is confused and I can't really explain it. Can someone please help me. Thanks! |
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crisdean
Joined: 04 Feb 2010
Location: Seoul Special City
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| Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 10:37 pm Post subject: Re: Grammar help |
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| pr1ncejeffie wrote: |
Hello all... need help with grammar. I can't explain this but I am positive it is wrong unless you guys tell me otherwise.
Don't shout, or he'll be angry. (I think this is right)
Don't shout, and he'll be angry. (A textbook said this is right)
The teacher is confused and I can't really explain it. Can someone please help me. Thanks! |
edit:: (fixed the logic notation)
Let's look at this from a logical point of view
let A := Shout
let B := He'll be angry
first the former
Don't shout, or he'll be angry
so �A ∨ B ([not A] or B) this is equivilent to A → B (if A then B)
thus if you shout then he will be angry
Now the latter
Don't shout, and he'll be angry
so �A ∧ B ([not A] and B)
this forms no direct relationship between A and B it merely states that A is not true and B is true, hence he will be angry and you shouldn't shout.
Since I imagine the purpose of the statement is to form a causal relationship between shouting and anger (ie. shouting makes him angry) the 'or' statement makes more sense. |
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Thiuda
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Location: Religion ist f�r Sklaven geschaffen, f�r Wesen ohne Geist.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 11:18 pm Post subject: Re: Grammar help |
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| pr1ncejeffie wrote: |
Hello all... need help with grammar. I can't explain this but I am positive it is wrong unless you guys tell me otherwise.
Don't shout, or he'll be angry. (I think this is right)
Don't shout, and he'll be angry. (A textbook said this is right)
The teacher is confused and I can't really explain it. Can someone please help me. Thanks! |
In sentence one, the conjunction or expresses the meaning otherwise, or else. One could rewrite the sentence as: Don't shout, otherwise he'll be angry. Grammatically and semantically sentence one is correct.
Sentence two is not grammatically incorrect, but the meaning of the sentence is awkward and unexpected. If sentence one were restated as a conditional, one can easily understand it's meaning: If you shout, then he'll be angry. Sentence two would have to be restated as the conditional: If you don't shout, he'll be angry. While both conditionals make sense, the second conditional is less intuitive. |
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