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

When does “either” not get an “or”

If either is used without the word or it changes the meaning of the word. If it is instead used with the word “of” it almost always refers to two items of the same type or category.

 

Example

“Either of the books should be taken.”

(one of the two books should be taken)

 

“Either of you can speak first.”

(one of the two people can speak first)

 

"Is either of you going to the dance tomorrow?”

(one of two people could potentially be going to the dance tomorrow)

 

Some sentence with either do not get an “of” or an “or.” This happens if it is not specified what should be chosen from.

Example

Role	With “of”	Without “of”
Subject	“Either of the books is missing.”	“Either is missing.”
Object	“You can take either of the pens.”	“You can take either.”

When don’t you use either at all

You don’t use either when there are more than two options.

 

Example

“We can either go dancing or swimming this weekend.”
(“Either” is used correctly here because there are only two options.)

 

“We can either go dancing, ice skating, or swimming.”
(This sentence is incorrect because “either” is only used when there are two choices, not three.)

 

“We can go dancing, ice skating, or swimming.”
(This sentence is correct. There are three options; therefore, “either” cannot be used.)

Click the following link to go to the next lesson:      

Mastering “Neither… nor” and “Either… or” in English: Part 3 – Neither… nor

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