student asking question

Can I say "and" instead of "or"? (see us and hear us)

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Great question. Grammatically speaking, you can say "see and hear us" but it would change the meaning in this scene. "And" and "or" are both conjunctions used to connect words, clauses etc, however they each create a different link when used. "And" is used for words that are dependent on each other, meaning they are both true together. "Or" is used for words that are related but can be true separate from each other. So, in this case, he is saying they can neither hear us or see. Letting us know that it could have been possible for them to be seen and not heard or heard and not seen. Ex: They can see and hear me. Ex: A:Can you see or hear me? B: I can hear you, but I can't see you.

Popular Q&As

04/18

Complete the expression with a quiz!