Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 17:09:44 +0900

From: Hideho Ida hida[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAIL.DOSHISHA.AC.JP

Subject: A question of the use of "or".



I have a question about the use of "or" in the following sentence.



I left the hotel; or I would have missed the train.



Of course, in this sentence "otherwise" is correct. But what do you

think of "or" in this sentence? Here "or" means "and if I had not". I

wonder if I should change the semi-colon before "or" into a comma in

this sentence.



In Quirk et al.'s _A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language_

(1985), I found the following example:



They (must have) liked this apartment, or they wouldn't have stayed so

long.



I would like to have your opinion about this matter. Thanks in

advance.



Hideho Ida hida[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]mail.doshisha.ac.jp