BOTH, EITHER and NEITHER: FREQUENT CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

We use both/neither/either for two things. You can use these words with anoun (both books, neither book   etc.).

For example, you are talking about going out to eat this evening. There are two restaurants where you can go. You say:

·        Both restaurants are very good. (not ‘ the both restaurants’).

·        Neither restaurant is expensive.

·        We can go to either restaurant. I don’t mind. ( either=one or the other, it doesn’t matter which one)

  Both of... / neither of…/ either of…

When we use both/neither/either + of, you always need the …/ these/those…/ my/ yours/ his/ Tom’s…. (etc.). You cannot say ‘both of restaurants’. You have to say ‘both of the restaurants’, ‘both of those restaurants’ etc. :

·        Both of these restaurants are very good.

·        Neither of the restaurants we went to was (or were) expensive.

·        I haven’t been to be either of those restaurants. (= I haven’t been to one or the other)

  You don’t need of after both. So you can say:

·        Both my parents are from London.    or     Both of my parents….

 You can use both of / neither of / either of + us/you/them:

·        (talking to two people) Can either of you speaking Spanish?

·        I asked two people the way to the station but neither of them knew.

 You must say ‘both of’ before us/you/them (of is necessary):

·        Both of us were very tired. (not ‘ Both us were…’)

After neither of... a singular or a plural verb is possible:

·        Neither of the children wants ( or want) to go to bed.

   You can also use both/neither/either alone:

·        I couldn’t decide which of the two shirts to buy. I liked both. ( or I likedboth of them. )

·        ‘Is your friend British or American?’     ‘Neither. She’s Australian.’

·        ‘Do you want tea or coffee?’   ‘Either. I don’t mind.’

You can say: Both… and…:

·        Both Sara and Abdullah were late.

·        I was both tired and hungry when I arrived home.

 Neither ….nor…:

·        Neither Ali nor Omer came to the party.

·        She said she would contact me but she neither wrote nor phoned.  

Either… or…:

·        I’m not sure where he’s from. He’s either Arabic or Italian.

·        Either you apologies or I’ll never speak to you again.

  Compare either/neither/both (two things) and any/none/all (more than two):

·        There are two good hotels in the town. You can stay at either of them.

·        There are many good hotels in the town. You can stay at any of them.

·        We tried two hotels. Neither of them had any rooms. / Both of them were full.

·        We tried a lot of hotels. None of them had any rooms. / All of them were full.