Lesson 44 Which do you like?

ポイント
How can you ask a perfectly grammatical question but not get the answer you want? Yasuko finds out.

ダイアログ
Yasuko: Laura, which do you like: Japanese food or Italian food?
Laura: I like both.

解説
Yasuko accurately translates イタリアンか和食どっちが好き? So why doesn’t Laura give a straight answer? Because Yasuko doesn’t ask Laura which she likes “more.” She should ask “Which do you like more?” or “Which do you prefer?” Laura likes both Japanese and Italian food, so she answers “I like both” because saying “I like Italian” could mean she doesn’t like Japanese. So if you want to ask about preferences, use “like more” or “prefer”; otherwise the listener might not make a choice.