What is an alternative question?

Definition
	An alternative question is a question that presents two or more possible answers and presupposes that only one is true.

Example (English)

Would you like chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry ice cream?

Source:

Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985 823

Generic
	An alternative question is a kind of
	What is a question?

Source
	Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985 823–824

Concept module: alternative question
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): A
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004