student asking question

Since there are two contradictory phrases, wouldn't it be right to use "but"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Good question. Technically, "but" is also appropriate in this context as "dead" and "undead" do appear to express contradictory ideas. However, the speaker has expressed this in the form of a list of adjectives, so "and" still effectively expresses the same idea. Ex: She is fit and unfit at the same time. She exercises regularly but also eats a lot of junk food. Ex: She is fit, but unfit. She exercises regularly and eats a lot of junk food.

Popular Q&As

04/23

Complete the expression with a quiz!