or

or

W1S1 [ə strong o: $ ər strong o:r] conj

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(possibilities/choices)¦

2¦(and not)¦

3¦(avoiding bad result)¦

4¦(correction)¦

5¦(proof)¦

6¦(uncertain amounts)¦

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[: Old English; Origin: oththe]

1.) ¦(POSSIBILITIES/CHOICES)¦

used between two words or phrases to show that either of two things is possible, or used before the last in a list of possibilities or choices

▪ Shall we go out to the cinema or stay at home?

▪ You can have ham, cheese or tuna.

... or anything/sth

spoken (=or something of the same kind)

▪ Would you like a coffee or something?

▪ She wasn't involved in drugs or anything like that .

▪ Grapes are usually either green or red.

▪ He's going to do it whether we like it or not .

▪ You must do the job yourself or else employ someone else to do it.

→↑either¹

2.) ¦(AND NOT)¦

used after a negative verb when you mean not one thing and also not another thing

▪ He doesn't have a television or a video.

▪ Sonia never cleans or even offers to wash the dishes.

3.) ¦(AVOIDING BAD RESULT)¦

used to say that something bad could happen if someone does not do a particular thing

▪ Wear your coat or you'll catch cold.

▪ Hurry up or we'll be late.

▪ I had to defend myself or else he'd have killed me.

▪ You'd better hand over the money, or else (=used to threaten someone) .

4.) ¦(CORRECTION)¦

used to correct something that you have said or to give more specific information

▪ It's going to snow tomorrow, or that's what the forecast says.

▪ John picked us up in his car, or rather his dad's car which he'd borrowed.

▪ We've cleaned it all up, or at least most of it.

5.) ¦(PROOF)¦

used to prove that something must be true, by saying that the situation would be different if it was not true

▪ He must be at home, or his car wouldn't be here.

▪ It's obviously not urgent or else they would have called us straight away.

6.) ¦(UNCERTAIN AMOUNTS)¦

used to show that you are guessing at an amount or number because you cannot be exact

▪ The boy was three or four years of age.

▪ I saw Donald leaving a minute or two ago.

▪ There's a motel a mile or so down the road (=about a mile or possibly a little more) .