Determiners: Neither, either

​Determiners:
Neither / Either

By wramos wramos

Determiners Neither and Either are used to talk about the distribution of things between two people, groups, or items.

Determiner	Meaning	Function
Neither	Not one and not the other. (0 out of 2)	Used with a positive verb to express a double negative.
Either	One or the other (1 out of 2)	Used with a negative verb to express a double negative OR used with a positive verb to express a choice.

Structures and Key Rules

1. The Singular Verb Rule (Crucial!): When Neither or Either acts as the subject of the sentence, the verb MUST be singular, even though it refers to two things.

   • INCORRECT: Neither of the phones are working.

   • CORRECT: Neither of the phones is working.

   • CORRECT:Either option is fine with me.

2. Coordinating Conjunctions:

• Neither... nor... (Expresses a negative connection between two subjects)

  • Neither the jacket nor the shoes match the dress. (The verb in the sentence should agree in number with the subject closest to it, but for formal contexts, " Neither the jacket nor the shoes matches the dress" is often preferred for clarity.)

• Either... or... (expresses a choice between two options)

• You can have either tea or coffee.

3. Contrast with 'Both':

• Both films were boring. (2 out of 2 → Plural verb)

• Neither film was boring. (0 out of 2 → Singular verb)

3. Contrast with 'Both':

• Both films were boring. (2 out of 2 → Plural verb)

• Neither film was boring. (0 out of 2 → Singular verb)

3. Contrast with 'Both':

• Both films were boring. (2 out of 2 → Plural verb)

• Neither film was boring. (0 out of 2 → Singular verb)

Let's practice
Choose the correct verb form (singular or plural) and complete the sentence using the appropriate determiner (Neither, Either, or Both)

Open Ended

___ of my parents (is / are) attending the conference this year. (mother is attending, father is attending.)

Open Ended

___ route to the airport (take / takes) more than an hour. (Route A takes too long. Route B takes too long.)

Open Ended

The waiter asked if I wanted sparkling or still water, but I told him I didn't want ____ one.

Open Ended

I think ___ the red shirt nor the blue one (look / looks) good on you.

Open Ended

We can leave at ____ 8:00 or 9:00, but we can't leave later. (Choice)

Open Ended

I told my team that (neither / either) of the two proposals (was / were) accepted.

(None accepted.)