Mastering “Neither… nor” and “Either… or” in English: Part 1 – The Basics

Either or

Either is a short way of saying:

“you or you”

“this or that”

 

It is used when we have 2 options, but only 1 could be chosen.

 

You can choose apple, onions, bananas or pears.

You either choose apple or onions.

 

Either and or

The word “or” is usually used together with “either” when you're presenting someone with a choice between two options. It shows that only one of the options can be chosen or is true.

 

Examples

“You can choose either apples or onions for the salad.”

(This means  one of the two options is available, but not both.)

 

“Either my mom or my dad will pick me up from school.”

(Only one of them will pick me up, not both.)

 

“Either the teachers or the students have made a mistake.”

(Used when we are unsure who exactly is responsible — but one group is.)

 

"Either you do the homework, or you fail the class."

(Only one of these things will happen.)

 

Do sentences always require an “either” if there is a choice between two options

 

Not all sentences require an “either” if there is choice between two options. There are some situations where you don’t use either even though you are giving two options.

 

1.    Questions that ask for a preference

 

“Do you prefer either apples or bananas?”

 

The use of either is incorrect here. We are asking if someone prefers one of two things rather than to choose between two things.

 

You should rather say: “Do you prefer apples or bananas?”

 

The person being asked the question could give more than two possible answers.

Possible answers

You can say

1.       “I like bananas.”

2.       “I like apples.”

But they can also say

3.       “I like both.”

4.       “I don’t like apples or bananas.”

5.       “It depends.”

Either or. Neither nor Part 2

Do you always have to use “either” when there are two options

You can usually remove “either” from a sentence. Leaving it out does not make the sentence grammatically incorrect.

However, the word “either” it often helps make the meaning clearer by emphasising that a choice needs to be made. Removing it could therefore sometimes make the sentence less clear.

 

Example

“Either you do the homework, or you fail the class.”

·       This sentence is grammatically correct

·       It is very clear that you only have one of two options to choose from.

 

“You do the homework, or you fail the class.”

·       This sentence is still grammatically correct.

·       It is slightly less clear that there is a choice between two options to be made.

 

There is a difference between the meaning of these two sentences, but it is not that big.

 

There are also sentences where you remove “either” without the sentence using any of its meaning at all.

 

Example

“You can fill up your car with either petrol or ethanol.”

You can remove the word “either” from this sentence if you want to. The sentence would not change its meaning.

“You can fill up your car with petrol or ethanol.”

Click the following link to go to the next lesson:      

Mastering “Neither… nor” and “Either… or” in English: Part 2 – Either… or

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