Does their room look like it’s made out of chocolate? Mmmmm….
You may recognize this mistake in a lot of DVD special features where they have multiple “alternate endings” instead of “alternative endings.” Using alternate to mean alternative has become extremely common, however.
Traditionally you could only have one alternative, but no one really follows that anymore. Alternate can also mean an understudy.
Edit to clarify:
Because the third definition of alternate is very close to the first of alternative, it’s easy to mistakenly use one of these adjectives in place of the other. Think of it this way: Something that is alternate substitutes for the original, while something that is alternative provides a choice without replacing the original. [source]
So you can have an alternate route if the first gets blocked, but if both are available the other is an alternative.
Alternate vs. Alternative Quiz
Fill in the blanks with either alternate or alternative (or a form of one). Post your answers in the comments!
- Main St. was flooded so I took an ______ route home.
- After George injured Bette Midler, Bette’s part was played by her ______.
- Crosswalks are easy to see because of the ______ colors.
- I really don’t want to see Shrek on ice, but it’s better than the ______.
Direct link for embedding: http://www.grammarcomic.com/files/grammar-block-004-alternate-alternative.jpg
2 Responses to “Alternate and Alternative”
Warpcorps
I think you’re leaving out the fact that there are two pronunciations of the word “alternate” which have differing meanings from each other. “al-ter-nit” is the pronunciation used by people that you are saying are incorrect.
Tommy Gun
The comic does refer to “al-ter-NAYt,” but my edit/quote mentions the difference between “al-ter-nit” and alternative. In the comic usage, alternative is correct because there are two viable options.