How To Use Either, Neither And Both

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How To Use Either, Neither And Both

One of the tricky things about either, neither and both is knowing if they should be followed by singular or plural nouns and verbs. The table below explains either, neither and both, and the rules for what should follow them. We use either, neither and both when we are talking about two things.

  • either = one OR the other
A         : Would you like tea or coffee?
B         : Either. I don't mind.
 This means: 'You can give me tea OR coffee. I have no preference.'


  • neither = not one and not the other
A         : Would you like ham or beef in your sandwich?
B         : Neither. I am a vegetarian. I don't eat meat.
 This means: 'I don't want ham and I don't want beef.'

  • both = the first AND the second       
I take both milk and sugar in my coffee.
 This means: 'I take sugar. I also take milk.'

  • We use either with a singular noun : either car, either person
  •  We use either of with a plural noun   : either of the chairs, either of the people
  • We use either and either of with a singular verb :
-                      Either day is fine for me.
-                      Either of the days is fine for me

  • We use neither with a singular noun   : neither house, neither man
  • We use neither of with a plural noun  : neither of the houses, neither of the men
  • We use neither and neither of with a singular verb.  
-                      Neither day was suitable.
-                      Neither of the days was suitable.

  • We use both with a plural noun          : both houses, both men,
both of the houses, both of the men
  • We use both with a plural verb.         
-                 Both (of) my brothers are tall.
  • We need of before the pronouns us, you, them          :both of us, both of you, either of them, neither of them, etc.
  • Between of and a noun we need to use these, those or my, your, John's, etc., or the            :  both of those houses, neither of my brothers, both of John's sisters, either of the cinemas
http://speakspeak.com/resources/english-grammar-rules/various-grammar-rules/either-neither-both
Both ... and is a paired conjunctions. Paired conjunctions are used to express actions that two or more subjects take. Other paired conjunctions include 'either ... or' and 'neither ... nor'. As 'both ... and' refers to two subjects the plural form of the verb is always used. However, 'either ... or' and 'neither ... or' can take the singular and the plural form of the verb.

Both … and
Subjects connected by 'both … and' take a plural conjugation.
Examples:

  • Both Alice and Janice attended USC.
  • Both Jim and Peter are attending the conference in New York this weekend.
Either … or
'Either … or' is used in sentences in a positive sense meaning "one or the other, this or that, he or she, etc." Verb conjugation depends on the subject (singular or plural) closest to the conjugated verb.
Examples:

  • Either Peter or the girls need to attend the course. (second subject plural)
  • Either Jane or Matt is going to visit next weekend. (second subject singular)
Neither … nor
'Neither … nor' is used in sentences in a negative sense meaning "not this one nor the other, not this nor that, not he nor she, etc.". Verb conjugation depends on the subject (singular or plural) closest to the conjugated verb.
Examples:

  • Neither Frank nor Lilly lives in Eugene. (second subject singular)
  • Neither Axel nor my other friends care about their future. (second subject plural)

www.ESL-Library.com/Worksheets

 HOW TO USE EITHER, NEITHER, NOR, AND OR

 First of all, either and neither can be used in several ways: adverbs, determiners, pronouns and conjunctions. While 'either' has a positive connotation, 'neither' holds a negative significance. You will always find them paired up this way: either/or and neither/nor. These are the ways you can find them being used.

Adverbs

When we find them behaving like adverbs, both either and neither become linking words.
Ø  I don't like spinach. - Neither do I.
Ø  I don't like mushrooms. - No, I don't like them either.

 

Determiners

In the case of determiners, either and neither are positioned before the noun.
Ø  The house has a door at either end.
Ø  Neither journalist could finish their articles; there wasn't enough time.

 

Pronouns

For all those instances when either and neither behave like pronouns, the structure of the sentence would be:

either/neither followed by of + noun phrase
When they act as pronouns either means 'one or the other' while neither indicates 'not one or the other'
Ø       Both these roads go to Rome; you can go either way.
Ø       Neither of my arms is strong enough to lift that suitcase.

 

Conjunction

In all the cases in which we find "either" and "neither" as conjunctions, we also find them combined with "or" and "nor".
either/or - They are used together to offer a choice between two things
Ø  You can either call me at home or at the office.
Ø  Either mum or dad will come to pick you up.
neither/nor - When they're paired up they negate both parts of a statement.
Ø  Neither the blue one nor the red is available in size 4.
Ø  I will neither call you nor send you a message before midnight.

https://www.kaplaninternational.com/blog/how-to-use-either-neither-or-nor

Parallelism with Not Only… But Also

Not only… but also can be a difficult correlative conjunction to work with because of the extra words and their placement in the sentence. Just remember to use two verbs that make chronological sense, two adjectives, or two nouns.

  • He’s not only funny, but also he’s intelligent.
When using a correlative conjunction, both clauses have to be parallel.
  • He's not only funny but also intelligent.
  • He has not only a sense of humor but also intelligence.
  • Not only is Dion going to Ngebel for a week, but also Ngrayun for a couple of weeks.
Because the subject is after not only, there also needs to be a subject after but also.
  • Not only is Dion going to Ngebel for a week, but he’s also going to Ngrayun for a couple of weeks.
http://www.grammarly.com/handbook/sentences/parallelism/4/parallelism-with-not-only-but-also/

 We use not only X but also Y in formal contexts:
  • The war caused not only destruction and death but also generations of hatred between the two communities.
  • The car not only is economical but also feels good to drive.
  • This investigation is not only one that is continuing and worldwide but also one that we expect to continue for quite some time.

We can sometimes leave out also:
  • I identified with Denzel Washington not only as an actor but as a person.
To add emphasis, we can use not only at the beginning of a clause. When we do this, we invert the subject and the verb:
  • Not only was it raining all day at the wedding but also the band was late.
  • Not only will they paint the outside of the house but also the inside.
When there is no auxiliary verb or main verb be, we use do, does, did:
  • Not only did she forget my birthday, but she also didn’t even apologise for forgetting it.

from English Grammar Today
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/word-order-and-focus/not-only-but-also

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