Blog about English
Choosing between two people or things.
Either, neither and both are determiners used to refer to two people or things.
They express positive choice, negative choice or inclusion of both members.
Either refers to one of two alternatives.
It expresses that either choice is possible or acceptable.
Neither means not one and not the other.
It expresses that both alternatives are excluded.
Both refers to the two members of a pair together.
It includes both people or things without exception.
Either and neither normally take singular nouns and singular verbs, while both takes plural nouns and plural verbs.
Informal English sometimes uses plural verbs after neither, but singular agreement remains the standard.
These expressions are used before pronouns and specific noun phrases.
Examples include either of us, neither of the answers and both of my sisters.
Either and neither commonly appear in paired conjunctions.
These structures connect two alternatives and influence verb agreement.
Choosing either, neither or both changes the meaning of the sentence completely.
Writers should select the determiner that accurately reflects the intended relationship.
Modern spoken English sometimes differs from traditional grammar in agreement patterns after neither.
Formal writing generally follows singular agreement.
Either, neither and both appear in a number of fixed expressions.
Examples include on both sides, neither here nor there and either way.
Either, neither and both apply only to two items, whereas each and every normally refer to larger groups.
Understanding this distinction helps avoid incorrect determiner choice.
Choose either, neither and both according to meaning and agreement.
Common mistakes include using either for more than two items, plural verbs after either, confusing neither with either and omitting of where required.