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English Articles

Both, either, and neither: How to use them in English?

By: Isabel McKay Thu Sep 12 2024
English
Grammar Tips, Determiners, Adjectives, Pronouns

The English words both, either, and neither make a reference to a pair: exactly two people, places or things. In English, we use these words all the time. Any time you are talking about 2 things, we use them instead of words like all or none. Specifically:

  • both refers to the whole pair → 2 of 2

    A drawing of a red apple and a yellow apple. There is a box labelled "both" that has an arrow pointing to the red apple and an arrow pointing to the yellow apple.

  • either refers to only one member of the pair → 1 of 2

    A drawing of a red apple and a yellow apple with a large red question mark between them. A box reading "either" has an arrow pointing to the red apple and an arrow pointing to the yellow apple.

  • neither refers to not one and not the other → not 1 or 2

    A drawing of a red apple with an x through it and a yellow apple with an x through it. A box above them reads "neither."

In this post I’ll be taking you through how to use each of these words, and the differences between them. We’ll cover both the grammar and the usage of these words. Either you will learn how to use them well, or your English will be missing something! Neither ignoring them nor putting off learning them is an option! Read on!

Table of Contents

    How to use ‘both,’ ‘either,’ and ‘neither’ in a sentence?

    There are four main ways that you can use both, either, and neither in a sentence. You can use them: (1) before a noun, (2) to replace a noun, (3) before of, and (4) with conjunctions. In this section we’ll take you through these four main uses, then we’ll talk about a few more specialized uses for some of these words.

    • Using ‘both,’ ‘either,’ and ‘neither’ before a noun

      You can use both, either, and neither directly before a noun or noun phrase. Both goes with plural nouns, either and neither go with singular nouns:

      • Both apples are sweet. → 2 of 2

      • Either apple could be sweet. → 1 of 2

      • Neither apple is sweet. → not 1 or 2

      Tip

      In a positive sentence, the word either implies uncertainty. Is the red apple sweet? Is the yellow apple sweet? We do not know. For this reason, in positive statements, either must be used with a modal verb that shows uncertainty (e.g. may, might, could).

      • ✅ Either apple could be sweet.

      • ❌ Either apple is sweet.

      In negative sentences or questions, though, you do not need the modal verb.

      When they come before a noun, both, either, and neither are determiners. This means that:

      • Both, either, or neither will always come before descriptive adjectives:

        • both blue hats

        • either tall hat

        • neither soft hat

      • We don’t use both, either, or neither if there is another determiner, as in...

        • ❌ these both hats

        • ❌ either my hat

        • ❌ neither the hat

        Exception!

        Some other uses of both, either, and neither can come before a determiner! Read on to learn more!

    • Using ‘both,’ ‘either,’ and ‘neither’ to replace a noun

      You can use both, either, and neither as pronouns to replace a phrase with the structure both / either / neither + noun:

      • Both apples are sweet.→ Both are sweet.

      • Either apple could be sweet.→ Either could be sweet.

      • Neither apple is sweet.→ Neither is sweet.

      Notice that the verb does not change: the pronoun both is plural and the pronouns either and neither are singular!

    • Using ‘both,’ ‘either,’ and ‘neither’ before ‘of’ + noun phrase

      You can use both, either, and neither before of + noun phrase, like this:

      both / either / neither

      of

      determiner

      plural noun

      Both of our apples are sweet.

      Either of the apples could be sweet.

      Neither of those apples is sweet.

      The noun after of is always plural. This is because it represents the 2 nouns that you are choosing from.

      either of the apples

      → one of 2 apples

      Because you are always picking nouns from a specific pair, the noun after of will always have a definite determiner which can be a definite article (the), a demonstrative adjective (this, that, these, those), a possessive adjective (my, your, her, their, ...), or a possessive noun (Paula's).

      A few more notes on using both of, either of, and neither of:

      • Use both + of+ noun phrase with plural verbs:

        Both of the peppers are green.

        However, either / neither + of noun phrase can be used with singular or plural verbs:

        • Neither of the shirts are clean.
          Neither of the shirts is clean.

        • Are either of the children sleepy?
          Is either of the children sleepy?

        Strict editors will say to use a singular verb in writing, but in speech, it depends on personal preference and dialect, so there are no strict rules.

      • Tip

        In speech, the of after both sometimes cannot heard before a noun phrase:

        • both of the children → both the children

        • both of these green peppers → both these green peppers

        But you will always hear of before a pronoun:

        • both of them → ❌ both them

        • both of mine → ❌ both mine

        Notice this difference, though!

        • both apples = both apples (from this pair of apples)

        • both the apples = both (of) the apples

    • Using ‘both,’ ‘either,’ and ‘neither,’ with conjunctions

      You can use both, either, and neither to describe a pair of phrases that are linked using conjunctions. Both goes with and, either goes with or, and neither goes with nor.

      • Both Sandra and Kelly bought us dinner.

      • I will walk either Kelly’s or Sandra’s dog this afternoon.

      • I neither cooked breakfast nor ate breakfast.

      Using these words with the conjunction will emphasize that there are exactly two choices.

      Use and, or, and nor to link any two words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical category:

      • both the brown dog and the black cat…

        → two noun phrases

      • …either ran or walked

        → two verbs

      • …neither red nor yellow

        → two adjectives

      • …neither with joy nor with sadness

        → two prepositional phrases

      • …both quickly and very well

        → two adverbs

      • Either I will make dinner or John will make dinner.

        → two clauses

      Tip

      When you use a subject linked with both… and… the verb is always plural:

      Both Paul and Kendra are late.

      But when you use neither… nor… or either… or… the verb may be singular or plural:

      • Speaker A:

        Are either Paul or Kendra late?

        Speaker B:

        Neither Paul nor Kendra are late.

      • Speaker A:

        Is either Paul or Kendra late?

        Speaker B:

        Neither Paul nor Kendra is late.

      The one you use will depend on your dialect or your editor!

    • Other uses of ‘both,’ ‘either,’ or ‘neither’

      There are a few other cases where you can use both, either, or neither in English, but you can’t use all three words in the same way. Let’s go through these other uses:

      Using ‘either’ and ‘neither’ to mean ‘too’ after a negative clause

      You can use either and neither to mean too after a negative clause. This adds another participant to the action or situation that did not happen.

      Use eitherafter a negative verb:

      Speaker A:

      Her baby didn’t sleep last night.

      → negative clause
      Speaker B:

      Mine didn’t sleep either.

      "My baby also didn't sleep."

      → after a negative verb

      Use neither after a positive verb:

      Speaker A:

      Her baby didn’t sleep last night.

      → negative clause
      Speaker B:

      Neither did mine.

      "My baby also didn't sleep."

      → before a positive verb

      You can do this in a dialogue (as above) or you use it after a conjunction like and.

      • Bob won’t come to the party and Jill won’t either.

      • Her baby didn’t sleep last night and neither did mine.

      Here are some more details on exactly how to do this:

      • Use either in a negative sentence exactly like you use too in a positive sentence. Just repeat the negative clause and put either at the end.

        Positive clause + too:

        Speaker A:

        Bob is coming to the party.

        Speaker B:

        Jill is coming to the party too!

        Negative clause + either:

        Speaker A:

        Bob is not coming to the party.

        Speaker B:

        Jill is not coming to the party either!

        We often delete anything that is repeated, and just keep the auxiliary verb:

        • Jill is coming to the party too. → Jill is too.

        • Jill is not coming to the party either. → Jill isn’t either.

        You can also use either after a verb without not as long as another negative word is used:

        Speaker A:

        Bob never goes to parties.

        Speaker B:

        Jill never does either.

      • To use neither, use this structure: neither + auxiliary + subject. Do not use the word not in the reply!

        auxiliarysubject
        Speaker A:

        Jessie didn’t run today.

        Speaker B:

        Neither did Sarah.

        Notice that we don’t repeat the verb or the objects, so we assume that the verb and the objects are exactly the same.

        auxiliarysubject

        Jessie hasn't fed her dog and neither has Sarah.

        → Jessie hasn’t fed Jessie’s dog and Sarah hasn’t fed Jessie’s dog.

      • In casual speech, people often reply to someone else with just subject + neither!

        Speaker A:

        Jessie didn't run today.

        Speaker B:

        Sara neither!

        If you use a pronoun before neither this actually needs to be an object pronoun (usually me or us), and many English speakers will use either instead of neither.

        Speaker A:

        I’m not going!

        Speaker B:

        Me neither / either!

        → Compare: Me too!

        This response is common in casual conversation, but don’t use it in linked clauses:

        ❌ John isn't going and me neither.

      Using ‘both’ after a noun or pronoun

      You can often use both after plural pronouns or plural noun phrases.

      • When both describes the subject of the sentence, you can use it after all kinds of pronouns, before plural noun phrases, or before two nouns linked with and.

        • They both like pizza.

        • These both look like pizza.

        • The boys both like pizza.

        • Patrick and Tim both like pizza.

      • When both describes a noun that is not the subject, you can only generally only use both after us, you, or them:

        • ✅ They saw us both.
          ❌ They saw the boys both.

        • ✅ He gave it to them both.
          ❌ He gave it to Patrick and Tim both.

    How to use ‘both,’ ‘either,’ and ‘neither’ in negative sentences?

    Because neither is a negative word, we cannot use it in a negative sentence. It is often best to avoid using either or both in negative sentences as well, but the rule is not as strict. Let’s have a look:

    • You can freely use both or either to describe the subject of a negative verb:

      • Both students didn’t finish the homework.

      • Either Jo or Bess didn’t finish the homework.

      However, it is usually clearer to use neither + positive verb rather than both + negative verb, and it has the same meaning:

      🆗 Both children didn't finish... → ✅ Neither child finished their homework.

    • We often use either after a negative verb.

      • I didn’t buy either car.

        → I didn’t buy car A and I didn’t buy car B.

      • She didn’t go with either of her friends.

        → She didn’t go with friend A and she didn’t go with friend B.

      • You didn’t think that either apple was sweet.

        → You thought that apple A was not sweet and apple B was not sweet.

      This has the same meaning as positive verb + neither, but using neither is more formal:

      • I bought neither car.

        → I didn’t buy car A and I didn’t buy car B.

      • She went with neither of her friends.

        → She didn’t go with friend A and she didn’t go with friend B.

      • You thought that neither apple was sweet.

        → You thought that apple A was not sweet and apple B was not sweet.

    • You can use both after a negative verb, but it is rare because the meaning is unlikely:

      I didn’t buy both toys.

      → I went to the store to buy two specific toys, but I did not come home with those two exact toys.
      (Usually this means you bought one of the two toys).

      A better way to phrase this would be:

      • I didn’t buy either toy.

        → You came home with zero of the toys.

      • I only bought one of the toys.

        → You came home with one of the toys.

    Summing up

    The words both, either, and neither are really useful words to learn and use when you are talking about a pair of people, places or things. In this post, I’ve covered these important points:

    • Both includes the two items in the group.

    • Either means one or the other, but not both.

    • Neither means not one, not the other, or none.

    We saw the four classic ways you can use both, either, or neither:

    • Before a noun

    • To replace a noun

    • Before of + noun phrase

    • With and / or / but

    And we saw a few other uses as well:

    • How you can use either and neither to mean too, to add another member to a situation or action that didn’t happen:

      Speaker A:

      I don’t like pineapple on pizza!

      Speaker B:

      I don’t like that either!

      Speaker C:

      Neither do I!

    • How you can use both after a noun or pronoun:

      They both like pineapple on pizza.

    And lastly, we talked about how to use both, either, and neither in negative sentences.

    I’ve made up activities to practice using both, either, and neither, so you can try out to fine-tune your use and understanding of these useful words. Why not give them a try?

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