Using both and, either or, neither nor english study here. Neither must be preceded by a positive statement as we never use two negative forms in the same sentence. If you prefer to use a negative, then you want to use either. Neither makes a negative statement about two people or things. So neither the men nor the woman is a good surfer is correct, as is neither the woman nor the men are good surfers. So neither nor either too when someone expresses a statement, we can simply use phrases like me neither, neither do i, nor can cats, james doesnt either, so does my dad etc. If you found this grammar guide about the difference between so, neither and either useful, let others know. Use neither for negative sentences when you talk about two things or people. Neither my dad nor my mom wears fashionable clothes. Home page for english grammar today on cambridge dictionary. Use either when you talk about two things or people. You can use these words with a noun both books, neither book etc. When they act as pronouns either means one or the other while neither indicates not one or the other both these roads go to rome. He neither attends the class regularly nor learns his lessons.
For example, you are talking about going out to eat this evening. Sometimes you can use either one and sometimes you have to choose either one or the other, but neither one is very difficult. We use eitheror for connecting things which are the same types, phrases, clauses or words. Use a plural verb if one or both elements are plural.
Put in so i or neither i, choosing which auxiliary verb you need. We will also learn about subjectverb agreement when making these comparisons. Either is always considered singular in a sentence. So and neither exercise 1 youre having a conversation with jenny. The public service broadcaster, doordarshan, hasnt been able to live up to expectations that the public service broadcasting model elsewhere. Learn when to use nor instead of or, and how to avoid common mistakes. In this lesson, we will learn when to use eitheror and when to use neither nor when comparing two choices. If both elements are singular, then the verb is singular too. I can drop you by the bus stop, or i can take you to your home. Note how we use the plural word surfers at the end there to keep everything in agreement. As an adjective, it indicates not one or the other, none of the two.
So neither either differences and use english grammar rules. If we can use nor without neither and invert the second part of the sentence, can we do the same thing with or. Using neither nor in english and example sentences. Try our interactive game to practice the difference between these words at. I am neither going to work nor attending my classes today. Neither nor when two subjects are joined by neither nor or eitheror, choosing the right. Try our interactive game to practice the difference between both, either and neither. When using eitheror and neither nor, note the following rules. But if you use neither, then make sure your sentence does not have any other negatives preceding it.
Browse our dictionary apps today and ensure you are never again lost for words. Can you use either or and neither nor with more that two items. What is the correct way to use neither and nor in a. When one of the nouns connected by or or nor is plural, the verb must be plural, and the plural subject must be placed next to the verb. The quick answer the pairing neither nor plays a negative role, so take care to avoid an unintended double negative. Either jacy or myra will help you with your children. In the not only,but also construction, the two items connected must be similiar in kind. Either refers to any one of the two things or people. I cannot find the tool, it is neither in the kitchen nor in the bathroom.
They have neither red nor white wine at this restaurant. The proscription against using or, rather than nor, with neither i was neither here or there instead of i was neither here nor there is likewise not absolute, but nor is most common, and in this case i support the restriction. If you found this english grammar about both either neither interesting or useful, let others know about it. Either the boys or the girls have hidden the sweets.
Neither can be used as conjunction, pronoun, and adjective. If a verb is already in the negative then either or is used and not neither nor. I dislike that punctuation and i would either use a semicolon or make it two sentences. In spoken language, the plural form of the verb is more usual.
Nor either or neither nor use either when you talk about two things or people. Use eitheror to indicate that there are two possibilitiesalternatives but not both. Eitheror and neithernor are correlative conjunctions. Neither nor used in a sentence in the negative sense when you want to say that two or more things are not true. If the subject is singular, the verb has to be singular. If singular subject follows both neither and or the verb may be in the singular or plural form. We can use neither on its own in replies when referring to two things that have. Neither the bank nor the credit union will give you a loan.
Jay had seen neither the snake nor the wasps nest on the next tree, and was preparing to stake his tarp in that lessthansafe location. Last of all, neither may be used as an adverb to indicate that two or more ideas, statements or alternatives are incorrect or wont occur. From a single channel in 1990, to more than 800 channels today, indian television has come a long way. But if the sentence is interpreted that way then it only has a minor punctuation issue, while the use of neither and nor is. Neither neither is used to show agreement with negative statements. When we say none of the options are real or true, we use neither nor. The sentence should be rewritten as im neither angry nor upset. Wednesday is neither the first nor the last day of the week. Remember, when using either it is always paired with the word or and not nor, and when using neither it is always.
So do i and neither do i i use so do i to say that a positive sentence is also true for me, and i use neither do i to say that a negative sentence is also true for me. However, using neither nor can sound unduly formal or even a little archaic. Add the power of cambridge dictionary to your website using our free search box widgets. Powtoon is a free tool that allows you to develop cool animated clips and animated presentations for your website, office meeting, sales pitch, nonprofit fundraiser, product launch, video resume. I would like to know when and how we use inversion with nor like the first example. May be freely copied for personal or classroom use. As a conjunction, it is used with nor to negate both parts of a statement. Listen to all all sentences with pause example sentences. Neither my mother nor my father went to university. How to use either, neither, or and nor kaplan blog. It consists of some grammar explanation and four exercises.
The english words either vs neither can cause some problems for native and nonnative speakers of english. See more about so, neither and either as short answers. He neither ate the cake himself nor allowed others to eat it. More natural than neither his parents nor peter was aware of this. It is possible to find examples in print or on the web where these words are comparing many alternatives, but this should be avoided whenever possible.
Combine the following pairs of sentences using eitheror or neither nor. Chavez grows neither onions nor garlic in her garden. She has neither eaten anything nor slept in two days. Neither nor neither nor connects two or more negative alternatives.
It is similar to using either at the end of a sentence, although neither is more commonly used, especially in spoken english. Whether you are using either or neither, you can only frame two alternativeselements. This structure, neither nor, is used to connect the same kind of word or phrase in the sentence. Here are some examples so you can better understand in which cases and how you are supposed to use. We use either or for connect things which are the same types, phrases, clauses or words. He may well be contented who need neither borrow nor flatter. Neither is paired with nor and either is paired with or. For all those instances when either and neither behave like pronouns, the structure of the sentence would be. If one or both of the alternatives are plural, use a plural verb. From the american copy editors society a tricky agreement problem. If you want to avoid that, consider rewriting the sentence e. No one brought neither forks nor spoons on the camping trip. Eitheror neither nor either or used when referring to a choice between two possibilities.