Discussion of 不是...就是... [bú shì ...jiù shì ...] either...or...; (if) not..., then ...

Discussion of 不是...就是...

To include posts you need to register at trainchinese.com

If it’s not___, then it’s___

JaJaWa

Show 1 reply

"要么……要么……" versus "不是……就是……"

When we use "要么……要么……", the speaker has already made a clear judgement him/herself, and waits for others to provide a response or opinion.
Example:
你要么自己来，要么委托别人办理这件事 [phr] Either you come in person or you entrust someone else with the matter.

When "不是……就是……" is used, there are three possibilities:
1. the speaker has already made a clear judgement him/herself, and waits for others to provide a response or opinion. In this case, "要么……要么……" and "不是……就是……" are interchangeable.
Example:
你不是自己来，就是委托别人办理这件事 [phr] Either you come in person or you entrust someone else with the matter.

2. the speaker is guessing or has some doubts, and is waiting for others to provide a clear decision or response.
Example:
他这时候不是在咖啡馆儿，就是在饭馆。 [phr] This moment, he is either in the cafe or the restaurant.

3. the speaker is describing a factual situation:
Example:
最近很无聊，不是吃饭，就是睡觉。 [phr] I feel very bored recently. I either eat or sleep.

lisaC

This structure indicates the meaning of being one or the either. The order of appearance of these two words is fixed: 不是 is always in the first clause, and 就是 is always in the second one. Neither one can be omitted from the structure. For example:
Example 1a. 我明天不是去爬山，就是去游泳。 [phr] I will either go climb the mountains or go swim tomorrow.
Example 2a. 不是他来问你，就是你去问他。 [phr] It's either he comes ask you, or you go ask him.
The clauses introduced by 不是 and 就是can be exchanged and it have no effect on the meaning of the whole sentence. We can change Example 1a and 2a to 1b and 2b below:
Example 1b. 我明天不是去游泳，就是去爬山。 [phr] I will either go swim or go climb the mountains tomorrow.
Example 2b. 不是你去问他，就是他来问你。 [phr] It's either you go ask him, or he comes ask you.

lisaC

You you can select to receive personal notifications on the app or via email for important contributions to words that you are learning in the account settings .