Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Teo]

If Tom is busier than Tim & Tom is busier than Chip, then Tom is busier than Tim __ Chip.

Which word should I use to fill in the blank, and or or?

Thank you very much for your reply.
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Thank you very much for your reply.

[lotus]

Hi Teo,


An interesting question. If you follow the logic, the answer is "or" - but more commonly, we use "and."

Replace "busier" with "taller".


If Tom is taller than Tim & Tom is taller than Chip, then Tom is taller than Tim __ Chip.

Let's try logic first. Tom=A, Tim=B and Chip=C. Then the sentence becomes the algebraic expression; if A>B and A>C, then A>(B__C). A cannot be greater than (B and C) because (B and C) together might be greater than A. Can Tom really be taller than Tim and Chip put together? Probably not. So, the answer should be A>(B or C).

So, the sentence would read:
If Tom is taller than Tim, and Tom is taller than Chip, then Tom is taller than Tim or Chip.

But, somehow the sentence sounds a little strange. It actually sounds more natural with "and."

If Tom is taller than Tim, and Tom is taller than Chip, then Tom is taller than Tim and Chip.
If Tom is busier than Tim, and Tom is busier than Chip, then Tom is busier than Tim and Chip.

This may be because we think of things or people with common attributes as a group. The "and" binds the group. But, it's not a group where you add everyone or everything together. Rather, it's a group where everything or everyone has a common threshold for that attribute (like height).

Let's try other examples:

Tiffany's diamond ring was bigger than Jennifer's. Tiffany's diamond ring was even bigger than Betty's. Everyone at the party noticed that Tiffany's diamond ring was actually bigger than Jennifer's and Betty's diamond ring.

Bonds hit a home run yesterday at 430 ft, setting a stadium record. This was further than Sosa's 410 ft. home run last month. It was also longer that Conseco's 420 ft. home run hit last week. The official record now shows that the Bonds home run was further than Sosa's home run and Conseco's home run.

Going back to your "busier" sentence - if you really meant that Tom was so busy that he could do both Tim and Chip's work combined, then the sentence may be re-written as:

Tom was busier than Tim, and Tom was busier than Chip. Tom was busier than Tim and Chip put together.

So, your textbook's answer may be "or." But, this may not be the real answer.


--lotus