The gross domestic product grew last quarter, it was announced last week, raising the question: What would a recovery look like? “Unfortunately,” says John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics, “you have as many views of the economy going forward as you have letters of the alphabet to describe recovery.”

Here are a few possibilities.

A V-SHAPE RECESSION is a best-case scenario. It refers to cases when the economy snaps back as quickly and steeply as it fell. The recession of the mid-1950s is a good example: Output dropped for three straight quarters, but then not too long afterward rocketed back up at rates of 8.3 percent and then 12 percent. Few economists are predicting a V-shape this time around, since consumers and job seekers are still facing pretty strong headwinds.

AN L-SHAPE RECESSION, also known as a “hockey stick” recession, is probably the most worrisome of all. It means that once the economy plunges, it stays down for a long, long time. The typical example is the Japanese economy in the 1990s, which stagnated for a “lost decade” after an asset bubble burst. Because the current American recession was also triggered by an asset bubble, some economists had worried that the United States might be doomed to a fate like Japan’s. But last week’s output report has given hope that the American economy might bounce back after all.

A W-SHAPE RECESSION also has plenty of other gimmicky names, including “double-dip,” “second leg down” and “roller-coaster recession.” These all refer to downturns that become upturns but then revert to downturns again. Think of the twin recessions of the 1980s: The economy “dipped” in 1980, appeared to recover, and then “dipped” once again. Some economists fear that this kind of “second leg down” may be lurking behind the good news last week.