Notes on Either or, neither nor, A lot of ..,

Either or neither nor

    * When the two subjects are in different persons, and the subjects are joined by 'or' or 'nor', the verb agrees with the subject nearest or next to it. Either he or you are telling the truth. (NOT is)Either you or he is telling the truth. (NOT are)Neither he nor you are telling the truth. (NOT is)                 Neither you nor he is telling the truth. (NOT are)Either you or I am going. (NOT are). 1. Used as a Pronoun    * When we use either + of or neither + of, either or neither being the singular subject in the sentence must be followed by a singular verb.EXAMPLE: Either of the boys is guilty of starting the fire.EXAMPLE: Neither of the two donkeys carries heavy loads.EXAMPLE: Either of them has stolen my chewing gum.EXAMPLE: Neither of them has the courage to talk to her.    * Either can mean the one OR the other of two persons or things.EXAMPLE: Give me either of them please.    * Neither is often used to start a sentence or reply to a question.EXAMPLE: Neither of the boys knows anything about her. EXAMPLE: "Which pizza do you want?" "Neither, Thank you." (There are only two pizzas.)    * When the verb is in the negative, we cannot use neither. We must use either.EXAMPLE:     He doesn't want either of those balls.    (NOT: He doesn't want neither of those balls.)    * Instead of using both ... followed by not ... we would use neither. EXAMPLE: We would not usually say, "Both of them don't know the answer." Instead, we would say "Neither of them knows the answer." * We can use either or neither on its own.EXAMPLE: "Do you want coffee or tea?" "Either. It doesn't matter which one."EXAMPLE: "Which house do you have in mind?" "Neither. They are overpriced.          Neither you nor I am going. (NOT are)Bottom of Form2. Used as a Determiner    * We use either to say about one OR the other of two persons or things.EXAMPLE: I have viewed both houses but I don't like either one very much.  * We use either to mean the one AND the other of two people or things.EXAMPLE: There is a door at either end of the room.    * We use either to show one or the other thing is happening.XAMPLE: Either he is telling the truth or you are.EXAMPLE: Either you are going, or I am.    * We use either or neither for two things. We use these words with a noun.EXAMPLE: We can ride either horse. (either horse = a noun, so we do not say 'either horses; either = this horse or the other horse. I don't mind riding one of them.)EXAMPLE: Neither book is mine. ('Neither book' is treated as a noun, 'is' not 'are' is used. The sentence means both the books are not mine.)    * We use neither to mean not this one AND not the other one of two people or things.EXAMPLE: Neither twin wants to be physically separated from the other.XAMPLE: He is not telling the truth, neither are you.3. Used as a Conjunction    * We use either before two or more persons or things, and use or to separate them.EXAMPLE: You can borrow either one or two books for now.    * We use either when we have one of two or more choices.EXAMPLE: Either she comes over to my place or I go over to hers as agreed.XAMPLE: It's either you send your old fridge for repair or you buy a new one.    * When there are two nouns in the singular and are joined by either... or, or neither... nor, they take a singular verb.EXAMPLE: Neither the cat nor the dog is black in colour. (NOT 'are'.)XAMPLE: Either this frog or that toad is croaking. (NOT 'are')    * When the two subjects are in different persons, and the subjects are joined by 'or' or 'nor', the verb agrees with the subject nearest or next to it.EXAMPLE:        Either he or you are telling the truth. (NOT is)         Either you or he is telling the Adverb    * We can use either rather than neither for negative statement.EXAMPLE: She won't come with me truth. (NOT are)neither he nor you are telling the truth. (NOT is)     Neither you nor he is telling the truth. (NOT are)EXAMPLE:         Either you or I am going. (NOT are)       Neither you nor I am going. (NOT are)4. Used as an or with him either.EXAMPLE: "I can't spell very well." "I can't either." or "Me, either."    * We use neither to add a negative statement to one that has just been made.EXAMPLE: "I don't usually get up late." "Neither do I." or "Me neither."EXAMPLE: "If you don't do it yourself, no one will help you." "Neither would I."5. Using 'Nor' without Neither    * In addition to neither, we can also use nor in place of it.EXAMPLE: "I never go to bed early." "Nor do I." or "Neither do I."EXAMPLE: "I haven't seen the movie." "Nor have I." or "Neither have I."Exercises on these: Either /Neither of : singular ! Either of the boys (is/are) guilty of starting the fire. Neither of the two donkeys (carries/carry) heavy loads. Either of them (has/have) stolen my chewing gum. Neither of them (has/have) the courage to talk to her. NEITHER of these two cities is on the desired spot, neither the engineer nor the ordinary citizen feels any self-consciousness in obeying the laws of matter and energy, neither the Southerner nor the Northerner is able to look. All of us: ALL of them have the same meaning, ALL of these techniques lend a solid frame work..., ALL of them were at their first year...,. ALL of the students attend the same course, called, all OF US were involved

a lot of; A LOT of people have many cards.., A LOT of people condemn them, A LOT of mountain climbers die ..., A lot of people agree

All of us, all of them= plural

All of this= singular

All of these= plural

They're up there in that freezing climate and ALL OF us have to try and help them".All of this is true and ALL OF it is totally true ,   ALL OF the jackets carry  .ALL OF them were there, that ALL OF them are ex-liberals.All of us are here.Both of them BOTH OF them were my friends.BOTH OF these lines contain phosphate builders. BOTH OF them were overcome by the horror.