>> Indeed, if you think of an actual situation where someone would say "do you want to eat pizza or pasta?", I think you'd find that it does, in fact, imply tha

>> Indeed, if you think of an actual situation where someone would say "do you want to eat pizza or pasta?", I think you'd find that it does, in fact, imply that the two are exclusive in that context It was actually this specific question that made it clear to me that this is not the case. In order to narrow down our takeout options, the girlfriend and I regularly ask questions like, "Do you want pizza or pasta?" meaning "Are any or all of these meal options acceptable to you?" (at which point the conversation continues with maybe us listing a few restaurants which offering one or both options.) This is the same exact phrase, but from context it is inclusive or. >> - say if you're at a restaurant where they only expect you to order one main course. Indeed, if the question was something like "Would you like soup or salad?" where, from context, the choice is binary and exclusive.