or

o

USAGE NOTE

"O" becomes "u" when it precedes a word beginning with "o" or "ho."

or(or)

conjunction

1. (indicating alternative)

a. o

Do you want the chicken or the beef?

¿Quiere pollo o bistec?

I think they have seven or eight children.

Creo que tienen siete u ocho hijos.

b. ni (in negative constructions)

Your comment wasn't funny or nice.

Tu comentario no fue ni gracioso ni simpático.

or

conjunction

1. (general)

a. o

2. (before o or ho)

a. u

an hour or soalrededor de una hora

did she do it or not?¿lo hizo o no?

keep still or I'll shoot!¡quieto o disparo!

snow or no snow, she was determined to gocon nieve o sin ella, estaba decidida a ir

3. (with negative)

a. ni

she didn't write or phoneno escribió ni llamó

Copyright © 2006 Harrap Publishers Limited

or [ɔːʳ]

conjunction

1 (giving alternative) o; (before o-, ho-) u; (between numerals) ó

would you like tea or coffee? ¿quieres té o café?; seven or eight siete u ocho; men or women mujeres u hombres; 15 or 16 15 ó 16; let me go or I'll scream! ¡suélteme, o me pongo a gritar!; hurry up or you'll miss the bus date prisa, que vas a perder el autobús

[either] A or B

rain or no rain, you've got to go con lluvia o sin lluvia, tienes que ir

not ... or ... no ... ni ...

he didn't write or telephone no escribió ni telefoneó; I don't eat meat or fish no como carne ni pescado; she can't dance or sing no sabe bailar ni cantar

20 or so unos veinte; veinte más o menos

an hour or so una hora más o menos

without relatives or friends sin parientes ni amigos

either else

2 (that is) es decir

botany, or the science of plants botánica, es decir la ciencia que estudia las plantas

Mary Anne Evans, or George Eliot

or rather ... o mejor dicho ...; o más bien ...

"U" and "ó" instead of "o"

While or is usually translated by o, use u instead before words beginning with o and ho:

... two or three photos ... ... dos o tres fotos ...

... for one reason or another ... ... por un motivo u otro ...

She was accused of parricide or homicide Se le acusó de parricidio u homicidio

Write ó instead of o between numerals to prevent confusion with zero:

... 5 or 6 ... ... 5 ó 6 ...

Remember to use ni with negatives.

or