Neither/ Nor and Either/ Or

What is good Flabbergasting English followers. I would very much like to thank y'all for the visits and comments. It has motivated me to sit down and write something for y'all.

The topic for today's grammar focus model is NEITHER/NOR and EITHER/OR. This is not a very difficult topic and as long as you, students of English, put it into practice, there will be plights anymore.

NEITHER/NOR - Both of the words have a negative meaning, the reason why we'll be studying them together.

Usually, they are used in order to agree with someone who had just said a negative sentence. Plus, it shows that you do as the person says. Check out the examples:

Example 1

John: I don't like eating onions.

Frank: Neither do I. And I don't like peppers either.

John: Neither do I.(Eu tb naum!)

So let's break it down. On the first sentence, John has assumed that he did not like eating onions. Frank, on the second agrees with John and affirms that he doesn't like eating onions, by saying "neither do I". Then, John continues, by saying that he does not like peppers either. The word "either" is used because in the sentence has already a negative word "don't". That is, it would be grammatically incorrect if you said "I don't like peppers neither" because there would be two negative terms on the same clause which makes it an error.

Example 2

Marcus: What do you like to eat at night: hot dog or pizza?

George: Neither(Nada disso/ nenhum desses), I like eating fruits at night.

In this case, the word "neither" is used to deny both of the cited things: hot dog and pizza.

Also, "neither" and "nor" can work together: See example 2 above. I could say that Marcus likes to eat "neither hot dog nor pizza" at night

EITHER/OR - Both of the words have neutral meaning, the reason why we'll be studying them together.

Usually, "either" is used to deny something as well as "neither". However, it is only used when the sentence has a negative term already.

Example 3

Van - Usually, I don't eat out.

Rod - I don't eat out either.(tambem)

So, as you can see in the example 3, Rod does not eat out as well as Van.

Example 4

Robert - Which pen do you prefer: the blue or the black?

Leo - Either! (Tanto faz!)

In this case "either" works as a neutral part. It means that Leo does not have a favorite pen.

Example 5

Robert - Okay, I have a ball and a baseball bat. You can choose either the ball or the bat

Leo - Alright, let me get the ball.

See example 5. Also, "either" and "or" can work together. It means you can't take both as favorites or choose both of them.

Summary 1

(I don't eat onions.) neither do I = Eu tb nao

(I can't swim.) neither can I = Eu tb nao

(I won't dance with her) neither will I = Eu tb nao

(I haven't been to school lately.) neither have I = Eu tb nao

(I shouldn't have taken that medicine.) neither should I = Eu tb nao

*It depends on which auxiliary verb has been used. For you to make it easier, all the example on the summary could be swapped for "Me neither."

Well, I hope you enjoy this post and I bet it is an interesting topic. Check your grammar notes and don't stop practicing. See you on the next post.

Summary 2

Neither...nor... = Nem um nem outro! (I neither eat pizza nor hot dog at night!)

Either...or...= Um ou outro! (Either I eat fruit or drink juice at night!)

Lil' Dawg

ESL Teacher