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<title>Expressing "either... or..." with "yaome"</title>
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<h1>Expressing "either... or..." with "yaome"</h1>

<p>When used by itself, 要么 is a not-so-pushy suggestion. But when used for a pair of choices, it gives a much more hardline "either/or" feel: these are the two choices. Choose one. (It can also be used for more than two choices, but it's usually just two.) In this case, 要不 acts exactly like 要么.</p>

<h2>Contents</h2>

  
<div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Examples </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 See also </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 Sources and further reading </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4.1 Books</span></li>
</ul>
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<h3>Structure</h3>

<p>You can give a series of alternatives by using 要么 (yàome). The structure is pretty versatile, as you can put a wide variety of things after each 要么.</p>

<p>It can be used both for commands and non-commands.
</p>
<div class="deux">要么 + Option A ，要么 + Option B</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">要么 你 去，要么 他 去 。
Yàome nǐ qù, yàome tā qù.
Either you go, or he goes. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">要么 继续 ，要么 放弃 。
Yàome jìxù, yàome fàngqì.
Either keep going or give up. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">要么 好好 做 ，要么 就 别 做 。
Yàome hǎohǎo zuò, yàome jiù bié zuò.
You either do it well or don't do it. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">要么 现在 就 买 ，要么 现在 就 走 。
Yàome xiànzài jiù mǎi, yàome xiànzài jiù zǒu.
Either buy it now, or we get out of here now. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 要么 回 老家 ，要么 留在 上海 。
Nǐ yàome huí lǎojiā, yàome liúzài Shànghǎi.
You either go back to your hometown or stay in Shanghai. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">要么 看书 ，要么 写 作业 ，不 可以 出去 玩 。
Yàome kànshū, yàome xiě zuòyè, bù kěyǐ chūqù wán.
You either read or do homework. No playing outside. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">要么 继续 找工作 ，要么 创业 ，不能 什么 都 不做 。
Yàome jìxù zhǎo gōngzuò, yàome chuàngyè, bù néng shénme dōu bù zuò.
Either keeping looking for a job or start your own business. You can't just sit around doing nothing. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 要么 加入 我们 队，要么 加入 他们 队 。
Nǐ yàome jiārù wǒmen duì, yàome jiārù tāmen duì.
You either join our team or their team. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">去年 夏天 ，我 每天 要么 去 健身房，要么 去 图书馆，特别 无聊 。
Qùnián xiàtiān, wǒ měi tiān yàome qù jiànshēnfáng, yàome qù túshūguǎn, tèbié wúliáo.
Last summer I either went to the gym or the library every day. It was so boring. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 老公 周末 要么 睡觉 ，要么 打 游戏 ，从来 不 做 家务 。
Wǒ lǎogōng zhōumò yàome shuìjiào, yàome dǎ yóuxì, cónglái bù zuò jiāwù.
My husband either sleeps or plays video games on weekends. He never does chores.</span><br/></li>
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<h3>See also</h3>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Providing two options with double "huozhe" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Expressing the only two possibilities</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h3>Sources and further reading</h3>

<h4>Books</h4>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 158) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 165) →buy</span><br/></li>
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