英语语法：135 "Alternate" Versus "Alternative"

This week we’ll discuss choices about how best to use the words “option” and “alternative.”
Frequently the words “option” and “alternative” are used interchangeably, but there is a difference.  Do you know what it is?
Let’s say Horatio has a primary plan of action. He says, “I’m going to finish this report before we leave on our family trip this holiday weekend. That way I can enjoy the holiday, help with the driving, and relax when we get home Sunday afternoon.”
Great plan, but is that the only possibility? No, Horatio has some alternatives to Plan A.  Let’s count them:
 
1) Horatio can work on his report in the car going to and from the destination.
2) He can carve out some time while he's at Aunt Esther’s house and finish the report there; it should take only a few hours, right?
3) Horatio can wait until he gets home and spend Sunday evening doing the report.
For the sake of this illustration, let’s leave it at that. After all, Horatio has enough to handle without computing² all the permutations.
So, Horatio has the original Plan A, and the three other possibilities. How many alternatives does he have?
Did you say four? Nope. The answer is three—besides the original plan, Horatio has three alternatives.  An alternative has to be an alternative to something else. In this case his three contingency³ plans are alternatives to Plan A (in case the original, favored plan doesn’t work out, for example).
Horatio does, however, have four options. He could opt¹ to finish that report in any of the four methods he has devised.
The difference between the two is one—the number one, that is.  Horatio will invariably have one more option than alternative.
Here's the tip. If you’re waiting tables, a small tip is disappointing, but this week’s small tip makes life easy for Horatio and other writers and editors. Remember that the “o” in “option” is also the first letter of “one,” and there’s always one more option than there are alternatives.  If you have 11 alternatives, you’ll have 12 options.
It ends up, then, that every alternative is an option, but not every option is truly an alternative—not an alternative to the original element, that is.
Caveats⁴
Sure, one could contend that the first choice is an alternative to the last, but that’s semantic quibbling. Besides, that premise⁵ doesn’t hold up, because the last possibility would then become the original. Dizzy yet, wiseguy?
Also, hard-core traditionalists insist that you should only use the word “alternative” when there are two choices and no more because "alternative" comes from the Latin word "alter," which means "the other of two," but our research shows that almost nobody adheres to this “rule,” including most modern style experts, so you can ignore it.
Another ‘Alternative’ Distinction
Now let's move on and think about the word “alternate”; it's become commonly used where “alternative” would be a better choice.
For example, it’s used in the media, such as in a traffic report: “A tractor-trailer jackknifed, dumping a load of jackknives on Interstate 95. Try an alternate route.” 
Well, that actually should be an alternative route. As we discussed earlier, you have an original element—in this case, a travel route—and then an alternative, or two, or seven. 
In any case, we hope the detour⁶ doesn’t delay Horatio’s family too much as they head to Aunt Esther’s bungalow⁷.
Nevertheless, “alternate” has become a recognized synonym⁸ for “substitute,” and it is widely used as such. There’s probably a case of the chicken and the egg there.
For example, in the judicial⁹ system, we hear about “alternate jurors”—who could be called “alternative jurors,” as they are available to take the place of any juror who doesn’t work out. But “alternate juror” has become the accepted term, so if juror No. 8 is removed because of illness or misconduct or whatever, then an alternate is impaneled.
“Alternate” in another sense means alternating, every second one—like odd- and even-numbered elements.
To be alternate jurors in this sense, imagine this visual: The jurors come out of the jury room and take their places in the jury box. As they go, odd-numbered jurors take seats in the front row, and even-numbered jurors go to chairs in the back row. Hence, they alternate (the verb form) between the two rows.
Let’s get back to Horatio and his family’s alternative route to Aunt Esther’s.  Now, imagine that two lanes of traffic are squeezed into one. The cars alternate; first one from the left lane, then one from the right, as they merge¹⁰. You’ve even seen the signs: ALTERNATE MERGE. It’s not terrific grammar, but it is the right usage. And the motorists—the courteous¹¹ ones, anyway—comply, and traffic flows.
And Horatio, stuck in the back seat with nothing to do, now wishes he had brought along that work report so he could get some work done.
Ragan.com
This podcast was written by Rob Reinalda, executive editor for Ragan Communications (word_czar on Twitter), and I'm Mignon Fogarty, the author of the new book, The Grammar Devotional, which many people at the book signings have been buying as gifts for their writer friends or for their kids' teachers.

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If Squiggly has two alternatives to doing the dishes, how many options does he have? [Answer: three]

If Aardvark has five options, how many alternatives does he have to the first choice? [Answer: four]

Is it correct to speak of “alternate players” or “alternative players” on a team? [Answer: Both are correct. “Alternative” is technically¹² correct, but “alternate” is now the most common and widely accepted usage.]

Which is correct: “He fasted on alternate days” or “He fasted on alternative days”? [Answer: If you mean to indicate that he fasted every other day, then “alternate” is the right choice.]

 

1 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

2 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

3 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

4 caveats   

警告

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling. 为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。 来自辞典例句
• As I have written before, that's quite a caveat. 正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。 来自互联网

5 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

6 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

7 bungalow   

n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房

参考例句：

• A bungalow does not have an upstairs.平房没有上层。
• The old couple sold that large house and moved into a small bungalow.老两口卖掉了那幢大房子，搬进了小平房。

8 synonym   

n.同义词，换喻词

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• The term 'industrial democracy' is often used as a synonym for worker participation. “工业民主”这个词常被用作“工人参与”的同义词。

9 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

10 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

11 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

12 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。