English Grammar: Neither, Nor, Either

Neither Nor Either: Parts of Speech

Neither:

• Neither is a determiner used to indicate the absence or negation of two things.
• It is often used to show that two things are not happening or are not true.

Nor:

• Nor is a conjunction used to indicate the absence or negation of a second thing, following a negation of the first thing.
• It is often used to connect two clauses or phrases that are both negative.

Either:

• Either is a determiner used to indicate a choice between two things.
• It is often used to show that one of two things is possible or true, but not both.

Key Points:

• Neither and nor are used to indicate negation, while either is used to indicate a choice.
• Neither is used to negate two things, while nor is used to connect two negative clauses.
• Either is used to indicate a choice between two things, but not both.

Examples:

• I don't like coffee, nor do I like tea. (using nor to connect two negative clauses)
• I don't like either coffee or tea. (using either to indicate a choice between two things)
• Neither coffee nor tea is my favorite drink. (using neither to negate two things)

Neither, Nor, and Either: Parts of Speech

Neither

• Used as a determiner to indicate the absence or negation of two things
• Shows that two things are not happening or are not true
• Used to negate two things

Nor

• Used as a conjunction to indicate the absence or negation of a second thing
• Follows a negation of the first thing
• Used to connect two negative clauses or phrases
• Connects two things that are both negative

Either

• Used as a determiner to indicate a choice between two things
• Shows that one of two things is possible or true, but not both
• Used to indicate a choice between two things, but not both

Key Points

• Neither and nor are used to indicate negation
• Either is used to indicate a choice
• Neither is used to negate two things, while nor is used to connect two negative clauses
• Either is used to indicate a choice between two things, but not both

Examples

• Using nor to connect two negative clauses: "I don't like coffee, nor do I like tea."
• Using either to indicate a choice between two things: "I don't like either coffee or tea."
• Using neither to negate two things: "Neither coffee nor tea is my favorite drink."

Using So and Neither

• To indicate that A is or does the same as B, use so + auxiliary verb + subject in affirmative sentences.
• To indicate that A is or does the same as B, use neither + auxiliary verb + subject in negative sentences.
• The auxiliary verb used after so/neither is the same as in the first sentence (e.g. be, do, have, can, will, must, etc.).

No Auxiliary or Modal Verb in the First Sentence

• When there isn't an auxiliary or modal verb in the first sentence, use do/does in the present tense and did in the past tense.

Nor vs Neither

• Nor can be used instead of neither.
• Neither is a negative word, similar to not, so the auxiliary verb after it should be affirmative.

Using Too and Either

• To indicate that A is or does the same as B, use too at the end of the sentence for affirmative sentences.
• To indicate that A is or does the same as B, use either at the end of the sentence for negative sentences.