In Spanish we can express a choice between two alternatives by using the conjunctions:
ya sea.../ya fuera... + o...
Learn how to use ya sea/ya fuera in Spanish
See the following examples:
No tengo más remedio que pagar la multa, ya sea todo de golpe o a plazos.I have no alternative but to pay the fine, either in one go or in installments.
Tienes que comer algo ligero, ya sea una tortilla o una ensalada.You need to eat something light, either an omelette or a salad.
We use:
- ya sea with actions that refer to the present or the future
- ya fuera with actions that refer to the past.
Sometimes "ya" is omitted, and the structure admits some flexibility, for example, you can also use:
sea..., sea...
fuera...,fuera...
sea..., o...
fuera...,o...
Note that "sea" and "fuera" agree with what they refer to, i.e. they change to the plural form "sean" and "fueran" if what follows is a plural noun or plural adjective. For example:
Here is a list with other correlative conjunctions in Spanish.
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