Both, either, neither

When you use it

Both, either and neither talk about a group of exactly two: two people, two things, two choices. Both means the one and the other together (Both rooms have a view). Either means one or the other, it does not matter which (You can take either room); after not it means not one and not the other. Neither means not one and not the other (Neither room has a view).

For a group of three or more, English uses different words: all instead of both, any instead of either, and none instead of neither.

How it is formed

In pairs: both … and, either … or, neither … nor.

Of. Before the, my, these and similar words, of is optional after both: both my sisters and both of my sisters are the same. Before a pronoun it is needed: both of them, both of us. Either and neither always need of before the, my or a pronoun: either of the roads, neither of us. The does not go in front of both; it comes after it: both the films.

The verb. Both is always plural: Both of them were tired. Either and neither with a singular noun take a singular verb: Neither answer is right. After neither of + a plural noun or pronoun, careful writing uses a singular verb (Neither of them is ready), but a plural verb is very common in speech (Neither of them are ready). Both are correct.

One negative is enough. Neither is already negative, so the verb after it stays positive: Neither of them came, not didn't come. In a sentence that already has not, use either: I don't know either of them. This means the same as I know neither of them, but the version with not … either is more usual in everyday speech.

Where both goes. As in the table, both can come first: Both my brothers play tennis. It can also come after the subject, in the same place as words like often and never: before the main verb (My brothers both play tennis), but after be and after helper verbs such as have or can (We are both tired, They have both left). It can also come straight after an object pronoun: I invited them both.

The pairs. Both … and, either … or and neither … nor join two words or phrases. The partners are fixed: both goes with and, either with or, neither with nor. With both … and the verb is plural (Both Tom and Anna are coming). With neither … nor and two singular nouns, the verb is normally singular (Neither Tom nor Anna has a car), though a plural verb is also heard in speech.

Either and neither have two common pronunciations each, with the first vowel as in eye or as in see. Both are correct in British and American English.

Neither has a second job as a short reply (I can't swim. — Neither can I.); that is a different pattern, explained in the lesson on so do I and neither do I. To talk about each one of two separately, English also uses one … the other, which the lesson on another and other explains.

Examples

• Both my sisters live near the sea.
• We both agree that the holiday was too short.
• Both of them were late this morning.
• You can park on either side of the road.
• I don't know either of his brothers.
• Neither hotel has a pool, so we chose the cheaper one.
• Neither of these jackets fits me.
• Anna speaks both French and Italian.
• You can pay either by card or in cash.
• The flat is neither big nor cheap, but it is close to work.

Common mistakes

• ✗Neither of them didn't come to the meeting.

  ✓ Neither of them came to the meeting.

  Neither already means not, so the verb after it stays positive. Standard English uses one negative word here. Ніхто з них не прийшов needs a second negative word, не, so didn't after neither feels natural. Никто из них не пришёл needs a second negative word, не, so didn't after neither feels natural. Keiner von beiden ist gekommen has only one negative word, just like the English sentence.

• ✗Both my parents works at home.

  ✓ Both my parents work at home.

  Both always means two, so the verb is plural. For a negative about two people, neither is usually clearer than both … not: Neither of my parents works on Saturdays.

• ✗Both Tom or Anna can drive. / ✗ Either Tom nor Anna can drive.

  ✓ Both Tom and Anna can drive. / ✓ Either Tom or Anna can drive.

  Each pair has a fixed partner: both … and, either … or, neither … nor. Do not mix them. The Ukrainian pairs match the English ones closely: і … і is both … and, або … або is either … or, and ні … ні is neither … nor. But ні … ні comes with не before the verb (Ні Том, ні Анна не люблять футбол), while after neither … nor the English verb stays positive: Neither Tom nor Anna likes football. The Russian pairs match the English ones closely: и … и is both … and, или … или is either … or, and ни … ни is neither … nor. But ни … ни comes with не before the verb (Ни Том, ни Анна не любят футбол), while after neither … nor the English verb stays positive: Neither Tom nor Anna likes football. German has the same three pairs: sowohl … als auch, entweder … oder, weder … noch. Noch matches nor, not or.

• ✗The both films were boring. / ✗ I liked both them.

  ✓ Both the films were boring. / ✓ I liked both of them.

  The comes after both, not before it. Before a pronoun, add of, or put both after the pronoun: I liked them both. Обидва фільми has no article at all, so learn where English puts the: after both. Оба фильма has no article at all, so learn where English puts the: after both. German says die beiden Filme, with the article first. English turns this round: both the films.

• ✗I don't want neither of these shirts.

  ✓ I don't want either of these shirts. / ✓ I want neither of these shirts.

  After not or n't, use either. If you want neither, take out not. Я не хочу жодної з цих сорочок has two negative words, which is why don't + neither seems right. Я не хочу ни одной из этих рубашек has two negative words, which is why don't + neither seems right. Ich will keines der beiden Hemden has one negative word. English also allows only one: not … either or neither.

Practice

The exercises go from easy to harder. Each answer is checked at once. If it is wrong, you get a hint and a second try.