壹般說來，名詞alternative可以有下面四種含義，除第壹種含義外都適用於“形容詞 alternative+名詞”。其漢譯則因上下文而異。
壹、表示對兩個或兩個以上辦法（或方案等）的選擇
Alternative前壹般用the或the only， alternative用單數。alternative 後可以接of，引出可供選擇的對象，各對象用or連接。這壹含義不適用於“形容詞alternative+名詞”。例如：
1，We have the alternatives of coffee， tea， or water. 我們可以選喝咖啡、茶或開水。
2，Should a motorway pass under or over a large waterway？ Up till about 1960 the only alternative was bridging over or tunnelling under the waterway.公路應該從江河的下方還是上方通過？直到1960年左右所能選擇的方案只是水上架橋法或水下開鑿隧道法。
二、表示兩個或兩個以上可供選擇的對象之壹
Alternative前可以用the， either 等，alternative用單數。但是如果指可供選擇的對象中的每壹個時，則alternative前可以用the，零冠詞，數詞，both，all the等，alternative用復數。各可供選擇的對象用and 連接。例如：
1， Choose the alternative inside the brackets which will complete each of the following sentences correctly. 在括號內的各項中，選出能正確完成下列各句的壹項。
2，Either alternative is correct. （兩種選擇中）不論哪壹個選擇都是正確的。
3，The alternation are death and submission. 或死或降，任選其壹。
4，Both forms are used by speakers of "standard English"； neither can therefore be regarded as "incorrect" English. For the sake of simplicity， however，the teacher might recommend the student to use one or the other of the alternatives. 兩種形式都被操“標準英語”的人所使用，因而都不能視為“錯誤的”英語。但是，為了簡便起見，教師可向學生推薦使用兩種形式中的任何壹種。
5，This multi-purpose cutter has alternative uses. 這種萬用刀具有多種不同的用途。
6，You might suggest two or three alternative titles for the school. 妳不妨給這個學校起兩、三個名字供選用。
7，Both alternatives are presented on the screen. 兩種選擇都在屏幕上顯示出來了。
8，All the alternative routes are given to car drivers by computers. 所有可供選擇的路線都由計算機顯示給汽車司機。
三，表示壹個辦法（或方案等）以外的另壹個辦法（或方案等）
Alternative前可以用an， the， no（ other）等，alternative用單數。alternative後可接 to引出名詞或動名詞表示原有的辦法（或方案等）。例如：
1，This is the four-stroke cycle which is in common use. An alternative is the two-stroke cycle， which combines the exhaust and compression strokes into one. 這就是常用的四沖程循環。另壹種循環是兩沖程循環，它把排氣沖程與壓縮沖程合並為壹個沖程。
2，As an alternative to buying computers， some firms hire them， and the cost per year will be about twenty-five per cent of the cost of buying them. 有些公司租用計算機而不購置計算機，每年的租金約合購置的費用的四分之壹。
3，We returned by the alternative road. 我們是取道另壹條路返回的。
4，If the wall units are too large for one crane they are sometimes lifted by two cranes working together. The alternative is to reduce the height of the wall unit， keeping its length equal to the column spacing. 如果墻體構件太大，壹臺吊車吊不起來，有時就用兩臺吊車合力吊起。另壹種辦法是把墻體構件的高度降低，使構件的長度等於柱間距。
5，In 1832 Charles Babbage had no alternative to designing a purely mechanical calculating devices using gears， rods and wheels， but the organization of the machine was very like that of a modern electronic computer. 1832年，查爾斯。巴比除了設計壹臺使用齒輪、連桿和輪子的完全機械傳動的計算裝置之外，沒有其他解決方案。但他這部計算機器的結構卻很象現代的電子計算機。
6，We had to fight： there was no （other） alternatives. 我們只有戰鬥，別無其他辦法。
四，表示壹個辦法外的另幾個或幾個辦法以外的另壹個或幾個
如果只有壹個alternative，則前面用an， 有兩個以上alternative， 則前面用零位冠詞，數詞，many， a number of， other等。alternative後可以接to引出名詞或動名詞表示原有的辦法（或方案等）。例如：
1，Computers are very expensive so that unless the firm is fairly large and can use one almost full-time it is uneconomic to rent or buy it. There is an alternative which many small firms take. They buy microprocessors.計算機價格昂貴，因此，除非公司相當大又幾乎能在全部辦公時間內利用計算機，那無論是租用計算機還是購置都是不合算的。很多小公司采用壹種變通的辦法，就是購置微處理機。
2，If a particular item asked for is out of stock， the computer may suggest alternative items which might satisfy the custormer. 如果顧客要買的某種商品缺貨，計算機可以推薦壹些也許會使顧客滿意的代用品。
3，Many alternatives to oil and gas are already in use， at least in a small way. 石油和天然氣的代用品已有多種投入使用，至少已小有規模地使用。