Unit 89. Both / both of, neither / neither of, either / either of

Unit 89- Part A

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 going out to eat. There are two possible restaurants. 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)

Unit 89- Part B

Both of … / neither of … / either of …
We use both of / neither of / either of +  the / these / my / Tom’s … etc. So we say ‘both of the restaurants’, ‘both of those restaurants’ etc. (but not both of restaurants):
   •    Both of these restaurants are very good.
   •    Neither of the restaurants we went to was (or were) expensive.
   •    I haven’t been to either of those restaurants.  (= I haven’t been to one or the otherl

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 speak Spanish?
   •    I asked two people the way to the station, but neither of them could help me.

You must say ‘both of‘ before us / you / them:
   •    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.

Unit 89- Part C

You can also use both / neither / either alone, without a noun:

   •    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.’

Unit 89- Part D

You can say:

both … and …	•    Both Chris and Pat were late.    •    I was both tired and hungry when I arrived home.
neither … nor …	•    Neither Chris nor Pat came to the party.    •    Tom said he would contact me, but he neither wrote nor phoned.
either … or …	•    I’m not sure where Maria’s from. She’s either Spanish or Italian.    •    Either you apologise or I’ll never speak to you again.

Unit 89- Part E

Compare either / neither / both (two things) and any / none / all (more than two):

•    There are two good hotels here.         You could stay at either of them.	•    There are many good hotels here.         You could 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.

Exercises

{slide=1 Complete the sentences with both/neither/either.}Complete the sentences with both/neither/either.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}2    Neither
3    both
4    Either
5    Neither{end-tooltip}

1    ‘Do you want tea or coffee?’    ‘   Eather  . I really don’t mind.’
2    ‘What day is it today – the 18th or the 19th?’    ‘_______________. It’s the 20th.’
3    A: Where did you go for your holidays – Scotland or Ireland?
      B: We went to _______________. A week in Scotland and a week in Ireland.
4    ‘When shall I phone, in the morning or afternoon?’    ‘_______________. I’ll be in all day.’
5    ‘Where’s Liz? Is she at work or at home?’    ‘_______________. She’s away on holiday.’ {/slide} {slide=2 Complete the sentences with both/neither/either.}Complete the sentences with both/neither/either. Use of where necessary.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}2    either
3    both
4    Neither of
5    neither driver … both / both the / both of the cars
6    both / both of{end-tooltip}

1       Both    my parents are from London.
2    To get to the town centre, you can go along the footpath by the river or you can go along the road. You can go ________ way.
3    I tried twice to phone George, but ________ times he was out.
4    ________ Tom’s parents is English. His father is Polish and his mother is Italian.
5    I saw an accident this morning. One car drove into the back of another. Fortunately ________ driver was injured, but ________ cars were badly damaged.
6    I’ve got two sisters and a brother. My brother is working, but ________ my sisters are still at school. {/slide} {slide=3 Complete the sentences with both/neither/either + of us/them.}Complete the sentences with both/neither/either + of us/them.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}2    either of them
3    both of them
4    neither of us
5    neither of them{end-tooltip}

1    I asked two people the way to the station, but    neither of them   could help me.
2    I was invited to two parties last week, but I couldn’t go to _________________.
3    There were two windows in the room. It was very warm, so I opened _________________.
4    Sarah and I play tennis together regularly, but _________________ can play very well.
5    I tried two bookshops for the book I wanted, but _________________ had it. {/slide} {slide=4 Write sentences with both … and … / neither… nor … / either … or… .}Write sentences with both … and … / neither… nor … / either … or… .
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}3    Both Joe and Sam are on holiday.
4    Neither Joe nor Sam has (got) a car.
5    Brian neither watches TV nor reads newspapers.
6    The film was both boring and long.
7    That man’s name is either Richard or Robert.
8    I’ve got neither the time nor the money to go on holiday.
9    We can leave either today or tomorrow.{end-tooltip}

1    Chris was late. So was Pat.
        Both Chris and Pat were late.  
2    He didn’t write and he didn’t phone.
         He neither wrote nor phoned.   
3    Joe is on holiday and so is Sam.
      ______________________________
4    Joe hasn’t got a car. Sam hasn’t got one either.
      ______________________________
5    Brian doesn’t watch TV and he doesn’t read newspapers.
      ______________________________
6    It was a boring film. It was long too.
      The film ______________________________
7    Is that man’s name Richard? Or is it Robert? It’s one of the two.
      That man’s name ______________________________
8    I haven’t got time to go on holiday. And I haven’t got the money.
      I’ve got ______________________________
9    We can leave today or we can leave tomorrow – whichever you prefer.
      We ______________________________ {/slide} {slide=5 Complete the sentences with neither/either/none/any.}Complete the sentences with neither/either/none/any.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}2    either
3    any
4    none
5    any
6    either
7    neither{end-tooltip}

1    We tried a lot of hotels, but    none   of them had any rooms.
2    I took two books with me on holiday, but I didn’t read ___________ of them.
3    I took five books with me on holiday, but I didn’t read ___________ of them.
4    There are a few shops at the end of the street, but ___________ of them sells newspapers.
5    You can phone me at ___________ time during the evening. I’m always at home.
6    I can meet you next Monday or Friday. Would ___________ of those days be convenient for you?
7    John and I couldn’t get into the house because ___________ of us had a key. {/slide}

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