both, either, neither

Both, either, neither – Grammar chart

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We use both, either and neither to talk about two things or people.

Both= A and B (the two things or people)

Either= A or B (one thing/person or the other thing/person)

Neither= not A and not B (zero out of two things or people)

Both / either / neither + noun

We can use both/either/neither + noun

• I like both cars. 
• You can park on either side of the street. 
• Neither parent was at the meeting. 

Note that we use both + plural noun and either/neither + singular noun.

Both (of) / either of / neither of

We can use both (of) / either of / neither of + the/these/my/her/Peter’s/etc. + noun

• Both (of) your parents are really nice. 
• Either of those two dates is perfect for the wedding. (=We can choose one or the other)
• Neither of the tennis players had a great game. 

Note that we don’t need of after both.

• Both of your parents are really nice. = Both your parents are really nice.

We can use both of / either of / neither of + us/you/them

• Both them did very well in the exam.
• Both of them did very well in the exam.
• Can either of you give me a coin for the vending machine? 
• Neither of us knows the truth.

Both / either / neither (without a noun)

We can use both/either/neither alone, without a noun.

• A: Do you speak French or Spanish? B: I speak both. 
• A: Do you want tea or coffee? B: Either. I don’t mind.
• A: Which car do you prefer? B: Neither. I think both of them are horrible. 

Both … and …/ either … or … / neither … nor …

We can say both … and …/ either … or … / neither … nor … to mention the two things or people that we are talking about.

• She ate both the rice and the meat.
• Both Susan and Peter helped me with my report. 
• You need to speak one foreign language, either Spanish or French. 
• You can either wait here or go home. 
• I like neither maths nor physics. 
• He neither called nor texted.  

Remember this!

Use either and neither with a singular verb.

• Either candidate is good. 
• Neither of the candidates is good. 

(not) either= neither.

• I don’t like either of the options. = I like neither of the options.

The word neither is negative, so we use it with positive verbs.

• Neither John nor Paula can’t come.
• Neither John nor Paula can come. 

We also use the word both with positive verbs. We can only use either with negative verbs.

• I didn’t like both/neither of the pictures.
• I didn’t like either of the pictures.