Either and neither can be used similarly in a few ways. We use either and neither to agree with someone who expresses negative statements. In addition, we use either and neither to express two alternatives. Either is used to express two positive alternatives while neither is used to express two negative alternatives. For more detailed, check the following sections.
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1. Either for Agreement
We can use either to agree with someone. We use either to avoid repeating what someone says to us. In this case, the statement must be a negative sentence. Let’s see the following examples.
| Someone Says | You Say |
|---|---|
| I’m not happy with his performance. | I’m not either. |
| I don’t like his performance. | I don’t either. |
| I didn’t go to the party last night. | I didn’t either. |
| I haven’t seen her lately. | I haven’t either. |
| I hadn’t had that food before we visited Rome. | I hadn’t either. |
| I can’t speak Russian. | I can’t either. |
| I won’t see her again. | I won’t either. |
| I was not fat when I was young. | I wasn’t either. |
2. Neither for Agreement
We can use neither to agree with someone. We use neither to avoid repeating what someone says to us. In this case, the statement must be a negative sentence. Let’s see the following examples.
| Someone Says | You Say |
|---|---|
| I’m not happy with his performance. | Neither am I. |
| I don’t like his performance. | Neither do I. |
| I didn’t go to the party last night. | Neither did I. |
| I haven’t seen her lately. | Neither have I. |
| I hadn’t had that food before we visited Rome. | Neither had I. |
| I can’t speak Russian. | Neither can I. |
| I won’t see her again. | Neither will I. |
| I was not fat when I was young. | Neither was I. |
3. Either …Or to Show Positive Alternatives
We can use “either…or” to indicate a choice between two positive alternatives. Let’s see the following examples.
| The Alternatives Without Either | The alternatives With Either |
|
Your sister can come here tomorrow.
You can come here tomorrow. |
Either your sister or you can come here tomorrow. |
| You can eat this food. You can take this food home. |
You can either eat or take this food home. |
| You can read this book. You can read that book. |
You can read either this book or that book. |
4. Neither …nor to Show Negative Alternatives
We can use “neither …nor” to indicate a choice between two negative alternatives. In this case, you can use a singular or a plural verb. It depends on the closer subject to the verb. Let’s see the following examples.
| The Alternatives Without Neither | The alternatives With Neither |
|
Your sister can’t come here tomorrow.
You can’t come here tomorrow. |
Neither your sister nor you can come here tomorrow. |
| You can’t eat this food. You can’t take this food home. |
You can neither eat nor take this food home. |
| You can’t read this book. You can’t read that book. |
You can read neither this book nor that book. |
| My wife didn’t sleep well last night. I didn’t sleep well last night. |
Neither my wife nor I slept well last night. |
| John doesn’t work. Those people don’t work. |
Neither John nor those people work. Neither those people nor John works. |
| Mary isn’t tall. Her husband isn’t tall. |
Neither Mary nor her husband is tall. |
| My father hasn’t seen me lately. My mother hasn’t seen me lately. |
Neither my father nor my mother has seen me lately. |
5. Neither of … and Either of …
Neither of … and either of … can be followed by us, you, or them. Let’s see the following examples.
- Neither of you can enter the room.
- Can either of us help you ?
- You can believe neither of them! They’re liars.
6. Either and Neither Can Stand Alone
We can use neither and either alone. Let’s see the following examples.
- “Is he an artist or a singer?” “Neither. He’s a lawyer.”
- “Would you like chicken or beef?” “Either. I don’t mind.”
Either and Neither Exercises
Exercise I
In this exercise you have to agree with your friend using the words in the bracket.
Example : I don’t have a car. ( either )
You write : I don’t either.
| Your Friend Says | You Say |
|---|---|
|
|
Exercise II
Change the following alternatives using neither …nor or either …or!
- George will not see me anymore. Jack will not see me anymore.
- Jane is coming to you. Or Sally is coming to you.
- Brian hasn’t come back. Sue hasn’t come back.
- Brad didn’t come here last night. Angel didn’t come here last night.
- Ben wasn’t here. Joe wasn’t here.
Answer
Exercise I
| Your Friend Says | You Say |
|---|---|
|
|
Exercise II
Change the following alternatives using neither …nor or either …or!
- Neither George nor Jack will see me anymore.
- Either Jane or Sally is coming to you.
- Neither Brian nor Sue has/have come back.
- Neither Brad nor Angel came here last night.
- Neither Ben nor Joe was here.
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