The question isn't (1), "Are you in set A, or are you in set B?" The question is (2), "Are you included in set A or B, either one?"
Granted, the wording appears to be ambiguous--but if that's the case, we have to go to context, which clearly shows (2) is intended. However, the wording actually *isn't* ambiguous. If Illiad had meant (1), he would have said "an influencer or a decision-maker". Since he meant (2) he left out the article before the word "decision-maker". The difference is small, but there.
This distiction is analogous to the example questions 1 and 2, which could be reworded as follows:
(1) Are you in set A or in set B? -- This is either/or; the repeated preposition "in" makes clear that the questioner is separating the two sets.
(2) Are you in set A or set B? -- This is yes/no; the absence of "in" before "set B" shows that the questioner is grouping A and B into a larger set C. |
