What is the Difference between Either and Neither?
Either and neither difference help students to make sentences when they are talking about two things. In this blog, we will explain the difference between either and neither, along with 50 example sentences. We will also explain how they can be used with nouns and pronouns.
Either means one or the other of two, it does not matter which.
Neither means not one and not the other.
We use either and neither to talk about two things or people. For example:
Would you like tea or juice? You can have either.
Neither dress is beautiful.
We use either/neither + noun.
| Either + Singular Neither | Window Book Watch |
- Last Sunday, I went to a restaurant and a zoo. Neither was enjoyable.
- First I played cricket, then I played chess. Neither game was interesting.
- There are two bags on the table. You can take either of them.
| Either Neither | of | The These/ those My/your |
- Neither of my friends speaks French.
- I haven’t written either of these stories.
Neither of us etc. + noun
| Either Neither | of | Them Us you |
- John has got two brothers. Neither of them is married.
- These boys are kind. Either of them will help you.
50 Example Sentences of Either and Neither
- Neither you nor Ram was here.
- Neither Sue nor Ann knows to drive a car.
- I don’t know how to paint either.
- Sita didn’t like either apples or oranges.
- Neither the students nor their parents objected to the change in schedule.
- Paul is either angry or upset.
- I neither drink nor smoke.
- Neither women is wearing a hat.
- Neither of them can play the guitar.
- Neither answer is right.
- Either Jack or his brother has been here.
- Neither of the students is hardworking.
- You can either wait here or phone them.
- He neither reads magazines nor a newspaper.
- Neither Susan nor Diane can speak Spanish.
- I liked neither of the dance performances.
- He neither studies at home nor in his tuition class.
- Neither she nor her friends have gone back home.
- Neither film is entertaining.
- Either of you can ask a question.
- There was no menu on either of the tables.
- Neither of the boys could dance.
- Neither he nor she can buy a diamond necklace.
- I am neither happy nor sad about his behaviour.
- You can have either tea or coffee.
- You can choose either cake or cookies.
- Either of the candidates is right for the job.
- Neither of them performed well in the interview.
- Neither of us has got a motorbike.
- There are two ways from here to the bank. You can go either way.
- Neither mother not father came to the parent’s teacher meeting.
- Neither of us had a camera.
- I haven’t seen either of those girls.
- Neither of my friends lives in Canada.
- “Which dress do you like, the red one or the pink one?” I don’t like it either.
- Either you borrow a pen or a pencil to write.
- Neither of the hotel rooms was comfortable.
- They don’t have enough money. They can either have lunch or buy a book.
- Neither Ravi nor his wife is very fat.
- Neither his grandmother nor his mother was at home.
- I don’t like Chinese food. – “Me neither.”
- I should not cheat, and neither should you.
- The exams are held in either room.
- Neither of us was thirsty.
- She likes neither meat nor chicken.
- Either Pramod will go to Delhi, or Meena will come here.
- Either you leave my sister alone or I will call the security guard.
- Either you finish your homework or you cannot play tennis.
- I left it either on the table or on the sofa.
- I will take either the brown or the black t-shirt
How to use either or / neither nor?
Use as an Adverb
Both either and neither can be used as connecting words.
Example: I don’t like to run in the park. No neither do I.
I don’t like to eat an apple. No, I don’t like either.
Use as Adjective
Either and neither can be used as adjective determiners because they specify which nouns are being indicated.
Example: Either pen is good for writing. (You can choose either one of the two pens).
Neither movie was entertaining. (Not the first movie nor the second movie was entertaining).
In the first sentence either modifies the pen and in the second sentence neither modifies the movie.
Use as a Determiner
A determiner is a word that refers to a noun by specifying things like quantity, possession, demonstration, and definiteness. We can use either or neither as determiners in English. It implies one of the two options or none of the two options. Example: You can run on either side of the road. ( one side or the other).
Neither as a determiner means not one and not the other of the two things or people.
Example: I liked neither car in the showroom. (I didn’t like the first car or the second car).
Structure: Either/ Neither + singular noun.
Use as a Pronoun
Either as a pronoun means one or the other of two possibilities. It is used in affirmative or negative sentences.
Structure: Either of + determiner + plural noun.
- Has either of your brothers helped?
- There are two dolls. You can give either.
Neither is used in negative statements where there are two options.
Structures:
Neither of + determiner + plural noun.
- Neither of these books has a good story.
Use as a conjunction
When either and neither is used in correlative pairs to connect two choices, then either and neither can act as conjunctions.
‘Either….or’ means one of the two options is possible.
Structure: Either (option A) or ( option B)
- They will either buy a teddy bear or a doll for Sue.
‘Neither….or’ shows that neither of the two options is true.
Structure: Neither (option A) nor (option B).
Example:
- Neither she will call you nor send you a message.