Than Either, Either, and Than?

[sasamiy00]

Trying to understand the logic/definitions of "either" and "than."

"Either A or B is tall." A is tall, B is tall, or A and B are tall.

"A is taller than either B or C." A is taller than both.

So what does "A is taller than B or C" mean? Does "than" by itself have the same exclusivity as "than either?" Or is it inclusive, i.e. A could be taller than B only, A could be taller than C only, or A could be taller than both? If not, how would that inclusivity be phrased as a rule?

[Dave Killoran]

Hi sasamiy00,

Thanks for the question! The "than either" is a topic that has been hashed out many times on our Forum and blog, so I'm going to refer you to a key conversation on this: https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewtopic.php?t=2615 — read Nikki's response there when you get a chance!

Steve's response here also defines "than either" perfectly: https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewt ... 655&p=9797

Regarding just "either," check out:

https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid-26 ... -the-lsat/

That should hopefully clear it up for you but if not please let us know. Thanks!

[sasamiy00]

Thanks for the links. Very helpful.

As a follow up, does "than" ever occur by itself, or will it always occur with "either"?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi sasamiy00!

The word "than" could appear without "either" but that would generally be in a different context (e.g., "more than", "less than", etc.). I can't think of any sort of conditional scenario that would hinge on solely the word "than."

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey