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Both / both of......neither / neither of......either / either of !!

Both / both of......neither / neither of......either / either of !!

Date: Nov 06 2007

Topic: Grammar

Author: alshehri2005

Lesson

We use both/neither/either for two things. You can use these words with a noun (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 liked both 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: Bothand…:

·        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.  

Eitheror…:

·        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.

English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy .............It ‘s so nice !

Comments

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Staisy

Staisy

Russian Federation

It is not  easy  to understand.

09:59 PM Sep 29 2014 |

sahere

sahere

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

good

05:52 AM Aug 21 2013 |

mkt

mkt

India

that all are helpful to all


thanks

09:19 AM Aug 16 2013 |

kavir1387

kavir1387

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

its helpful , thanks

11:54 AM Apr 16 2013 |

Nancyliang

Nancyliang

China

so useful, thanks

06:56 AM Apr 16 2013 |

SANG891

SANG891

Hong Kong

Like

02:35 PM Dec 16 2012 |

Plx

Plx

Turkey

It’s useful lesson, thanks for your working 

04:45 PM Aug 20 2012 |

gladraptor

gladraptor

Germany

very nice ;D you are n “ace” ;)

05:45 PM Jan 15 2012 |

TranceSoul

TranceSoul

Poland

Why did’t I find it earlier!! This lesson is very useful for me. Now everything is easier, he he :)


Thanks!!

03:55 PM Jan 15 2012 |

youness4

youness4

Croatia

hi

02:04 PM Nov 28 2011 |

mahum

Pakistan

very nice..it,s really usefull lessonLaughing

08:10 AM Nov 27 2011 |

mâŋä

mâŋä

Saudi Arabia

Thank you ,it’s useful lesson.

06:13 AM May 21 2011 |

agansaglik

agansaglik

Turkey

This is a good explanation. Thanks Alshehri2005.

08:28 AM May 14 2011 |

TranceGirl85

Netherlands

thanks!

I've been confused about it since i started speaking english;)

very very useful!

11:04 AM Apr 11 2011 |

eme soul

eme soul

United Arab Emirates

Really great and useful lesson,Thank you 

11:47 AM Apr 03 2011 |

white jasmin

Saudi Arabia

cool may allah bless you thanks

05:21 AM Mar 03 2011 |

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