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Either Vs. Neither

September 18, 2014

One of our subscribers recently asked us for a post on either and neither, and it’s easy to see why. These two words look and sound so similar that it’s no wonder students get confused. What’s the best way to teach these two terms?

Meaning

Either and neither have two main functions in English:

Function 1 Agreeing with a negative statement
Examples
  • A: I don't like the rain.
    B: Me neither.
  • A: I never eat vegetables.
    B: I don't, either.
Function 2 The negative version of "both" (representing two people or things)
Examples
  • Neither of my roommates is home tonight.*
  • I don’t think either chair is for sale.*

*See Important Note #3 below for a discussion on singular and plural verb usage.

Either or Neither?

The easiest way for students to figure out which term to use is to look for a negative word in the sentence (usually "not"). If there is a negative word, use either. If not, use neither. Tell them to think of the first letter “n” in neither as replacing "not" or "never."

  • I never liked this movie either.
  • You don't like cheese? I don't either.
  • If you're not registering for this class, then I won't either.
  • I don't think either manager is coming to the meeting.
  • You don't like watching sports? Neither do I.
  • You don't want to go out tonight? Yeah, me neither.
  • Neither of my closest friends is coming to my party tonight.
  • She told me that neither applicant got the position.

Important Notes

1. Other negative words

Students might get confused by other negative words such as dislike, hate, be sick of, etc. Make sure you point out that if the verb doesn't have a negative adverb (not or never), then the rule above doesn't apply. So even though the meaning of dislike is negative, we have to use me too instead of me neither.

  • You hate that book? Me too.

2. Either for choice in affirmative sentences

Either can be used without a negative word. Examples include the formal expression in either case or to indicate a choice where there's no clear preference (either one will do, give me either of them, either…or, etc.).

3. Singular or plural verb?

When used as a subjecteither and neither + a singular verb is always correct. For higher-level students, you can explain it in more detail and point out that a plural verb is possible in some cases:

Rule 1: Either/Neither + singular noun + singular verb
Examples:
  • I don't know if either parent is coming to the performance.
  • Neither parent is coming to the performance.
Rule 2: Either/Neither + of + plural noun + singular OR plural verb
Examples:
  • I don't know if either of my parents is/are coming to my performance.
  • Neither of my parents is/are coming to my performance.

Note that using a plural verb is considered more informal, and students always want to know the most common, casual way of speaking in English!

Short Answers

There are a few different ways to agree with someone’s negative statement in English.

Negative Statement: I don't eat breakfast.
Responses:
  • Me neither.
  • Me either.*
  • I don’t either.
  • Neither do I.

I usually tell my students that me neither is the most common, informal way of replying. Me neither is especially common in speaking. For a slightly more formal response (and one that is more common in writing), use I don’t either or neither do I.

*Some people say me either while others insist it's incorrect. Personally, I prefer me neither.

Pronunciation

So how do we pronounce neither and either? There are two equally common, acceptable ways to pronounce these terms. I tell my students to choose one way and stick to it.

Option 1

Neither: /ˈni ðər/ (nee-thur)
Either /ˈi ðər/ (ee-thur)

Option 2

Neither: /ˈnɑɪ ðər/ (neye-thur)
Either /ˈɑɪ ðər/ (eye-thur)

Reassure students that they can’t really go wrong. The only strange thing might be to mix up the two pronunciations in the same sentence (however, I’m sure I’ve been guilty of that once or twice in my life!).

Related

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on Either…Or Vs. Neither…Nor and Ever Vs. Never.

Sources

  • Azar, Fundamentals of English Grammar, 2nd ed., Prentice Hall Regents, 1992.
  • Collins Cobuild, English Grammar, HarperCollins Publishers, 1990.
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Comments (10)

Masood Khan(Guest)

Such a nice post.

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Thank you, Masood!

Joshua (Guest)

Thank you for explaining so well.

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Thanks for your comment, Joshua!

Coco L.(Teacher)

No offense, but your article made me even more confused.

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Hi Coco, I'm sorry to hear that! I hope it will help if I sum it up for you here:

Choice:
- Use "either" for a positive meaning (e.g., Either choice sounds good to me. = both are good choices).
- Use "neither" for a negative meaning (e.g., Neither choice sounds good to me. = none are good choices).

Agreement:
- Use "too" for a positive meaning (e.g., We like cats too. = we both like cats).
- Use "either" for a negative meaning when there is a negative word (not, never, etc.) in the sentence (e.g., We don't like dogs either. = both of us don't like dogs).
- Use "neither" for a negative meaning when there is no negative word in the sentence (e.g., Neither of us like dogs. = both of us don't like dogs).

Israel G.(Teacher)

Fantastic explanation, I solved all my doubts

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

That's music to my ears, Israel!

Elaine K.(Teacher)

Hi~ thanks for this post. You said "If there is a negative word, use either. If not, use neither. " Can you please explain how the below two sentences work? "You don't* like (neg.).... but you used "neither* do I" I understand this is correct. Is there another logic behind agreeing responses? Thanks so much!

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Hi Elaine, that "rule" applies to words within one sentence only, not within the combined statement and response sentences. Because the response "Neither do I" is a separate sentence, the rule applies only to that response. We use "Neither do I" because the verb "do" doesn't contain a negative word. Or we use "I don't, either" because the verb "don't" contains a negative word. It doesn't matter if you used "not" in the previous statement.

I hope that clears things up! I'm glad you asked this question in case it is confusing to others as well.

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