How should you use alternate and alternative? These words are not always interchangeable, though their meanings overlap.
Alternate & Alternative
Alternative and alternate can both be adjectives or nouns.
- Alternate means every other one in a series; e.g., if something happens on alternate days, nights, etc., it happens on one day but not on the next.
- An alternative refers to one of two possibilities, or something “that you can choose to do or have out of two or more possibilities”.
As adjectives, both can be used to refer to something that can be used instead of something else, or as a substitute, but only “alternative” has the aspect of choice.
Correct example with alternate.
Another correct example with alternative.
Incorrect example with alternate route.
Another incorrect example with alternative days.
How to use alternate vs. alternative
Compare how both words appear in the sentence (from Strunk & White’s TEOS).
|
As the flooded road left them no alternative, they took the alternate route. |
We could replace the word “alternative” in the above sentence with “other choice”.
“Alternate” / “alternative”, used in sentences
| Examples: “alternate”, used in sentences |
|---|
| Stretch up 30 times with alternate arms as a warm-up exercise.
John has to work on alternate Sundays. The ferry service will initially run on alternate days, increasing eventually to daily sailings. |
| Examples: “alternative”, used in sentences |
|---|
| The road was closed, so we had to find an alternative route.
Can you offer an alternative explanation? The car is too expensive, so we’re trying to find a cheaper alternative. There is a vegetarian alternative on the menu every day. |
“alternate” vs. “alternative,” associate “alternate” with “alternating” patterns (every other one) and “alternative” with “alternatives”—choices among options.
| Alternate (verb) synonyms | Alternate (adjective) synonyms | Alternative (adjective) synonyms | Alternative (noun) synonyms |
|---|---|---|---|
| alter | double | second | opportunity |
| intersperse | equivalent | substitute | option |
| rotate | fill in | surrogate | substitute |
| vary | stand-in | ||
| waver |
Word origin (of alternate/alternative)
Late 14c., “to change (something), make different in some way,” from Old French alterer “to change, alter,” from Medieval Latin alterare “to change,” from Latin alter “the other (of the two),” from PIE root *al- (1) “beyond” + comparative suffix -ter (as in other).
|
1580s, “offering one or the other of two,” from Medieval Latin alternativus, from Latin alternatus, past participle of alternare “do one thing and then another, do by turns,” from alternus “one after the other, alternate, in turns, reciprocal,” from alter “the other” (see alter). |
Read about other commonly confused words
Worksheet
According to the post, what does it mean if something happens on “alternate days”?
The post mentions that the adjective “alternative” specifically includes the aspect of…
The post indicates that using “alternate route” is incorrect. What is the correct phrase?
According to the post, “alternative days” is an incorrect usage. What is the correct phrase?
In the sentence “As the flooded road left them no _____, they took the _____ route,” which pair correctly fills the blanks according to the example provided in the post?
She visits her grandmother on Saturdays.
Do you have an solution to this problem?
Since the main dish wasn’t available, I chose a vegetarian .
The dancers performed a routine using steps.
With no other , we had to take the long way around.
FAQs
What’s the main difference in usage?
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Which word is correct for ‘route’?
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Which word is correct for ‘days’?
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Can they both mean ‘instead of’?
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Any tip to remember which word to use?
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Yash, D. "Alternate vs. Alternative (Correct Usage, + Examples)." Grammarflex, Jun 25, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/alternate-vs-alternative-correct-usage-examples/.
Sources
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Oxford Learner’s Dictionary on “alternate” and “alternative”. Accessed 23 March 2024. Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of alternative.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/alternative. Accessed 27 March 2024.
