English Basics-Either or and Niether Nor

Difference Between EITHER And NEITHER In English


🔆How To Use EITHER🔆


When we have two options, the word either means only one of the two (but not the other):

🔸You can have either chocolate ice cream or vanilla – which one would you like?

🔸Come visit on either Monday or Wednesday.

🔸If he’s not in his office, he’s either in the bathroom or out to lunch.

When someone offers you a choice between two things, and you don’t care which one is chosen, you can respond with “Either one.”

👱‍♀“Would you like coffee or tea?”

👱‍♂“Either one. Whatever everyone else is having.”

🧔“We have these two photos, which one do you want to use in the brochure?”

👩“Either one. They both look good to me.”

🔆How To Use NEITHER🔆


Not either and neither both mean NOT one thing, and NOT the other thing:

🔸I don’t speak either French or Spanish.
= I speak neither French nor Spanish.

🔸I don’t speak either of those languages.
= I speak neither of those languages.

As you can see in the example sentences, we use

▪not – either – or and neither – nor when naming the two items specifically
▪ not – either of and neither of when saying the two items together as a group.

Here are more examples:

🔸Neither my mother nor my father like to travel.
= Neither of my parents like to travel.

🔸Neither the first book nor the second book was very good.
= Neither of the books was very good.
= Neither book was very good.

When the two things are of the same type – as in two books – we can say neither of the books or neither book.

When someone offers you a choice between two things, and you dislike both or you don’t want the first thing or the second thing, you can respond with “Neither” or “Neither one.”

👱‍♀“Do you want a sandwich or a piece of pizza?”

👧“Neither. I’m actually not hungry at all.”

👱‍♂“Which of these two candidates do you think is better for the job?”

🧔“Neither one. We need somebody more experienced.”

🔆 NOT EITHER And NEITHER For “Also Not” 🔆

When somebody makes a negative statement (a statement with the word “not” in it), you can use not either / neither to say “also not.”

The structure of the reply is a little different, depending on which one you use:

👱‍♂“I can’t swim.”
👨“I can’t either.” = “Neither can I.” = “Me neither” (informal)

👱‍♀“Kavitha didn’t come to class today.”
🧔“Boby didn’t either.” = “Neither did Boby.”

🧕“We haven’t booked our tickets yet.”
👱‍♀“We haven’t either.” = “Neither have we.”

English Basics-Either or and Niether Nor

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