The words 'either', 'neither' and 'both' are very useful when comparing two things. The three words have different meanings.
| either | one or the other |
| neither | not one and not the other |
| both | one and the other |
We can use these words to express a choice between two things.
I'll take either piece. I like milk chocolate and I also like dark chocolate.
I'll take neither piece. I don't like chocolate.
I'll take both pieces! I want as much chocolate as I can have!
The word 'neither' has a negative meaning. When we want to make a negative sentence, we can use 'neither' or 'not / either.'
| Neither | I ate neither chocolate. |
| Either | I did not eat either chocolate. |
You cannot use the word 'neither' with 'not.'
Just like with 'each' and 'every,' you can use the words 'either,' 'neither' and 'both' with the word 'of.' Because these words already refer to specific nouns, we only use 'of' when we want to use the noun with an article or determiner.
| No article | I don't want either chocolate. |
| With article | I don't want either of these chocolates. |
We use 'either' and 'neither' with singular count nouns.
We use 'either of' and 'neither of' with plural nouns.
We can use 'both' only with plural nouns, because it refers to two things.
Conjunctions
We can use special conjunctions with these words.
| either | or |
| neither | nor |
| both | and |
In sentences, we can put two nouns after 'either,' 'neither' or 'both,' by using these conjunctions.
I'd like to taste either the purple one or the green one!
Neither the blue bag nor the green bag is on sale.
She wants to try on both the right shoe and the left shoe together.
Exercise
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