UNIT 89. Both/ both of neither/neither of either/either of ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

UNIT 89. Both/ both of    neither/neither of     either/either of

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) √ √ 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.' √ √
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 other) √ √ You don't need of after both. So you can say: √ Both my parents are from Egypt.      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 Russian? 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.
C	You can say: both ... and ... √ Both Chris and Paul were late. I was both tired and hungry when I arrived home. √ neither ... nor ... √ Neither Chris nor Paul came to the party. There was an accident in the street where we live, but we neither saw nor heard anything. √ 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. √
D	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. √ We tried two hotels. Neither of them had any rooms. Both of them were full. √ There are many good hotels here. You could stay at any of them. √ We tried a lot of hotels. None of them had any rooms. All of them were full.

EXERCISES

89.1	Complete the sentences with both/neither/either. 1 ~Do you want tea or coffee?' ___’Either______. 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 on your trip- Korea or japan? B: We went to ___________. A week in Korea and a week in japan. 4 ‘Shall we sit in the corner or by the window?' ‘___________. I don't mind.' 5 ‘where's Lisa? Is she at work or at home?' ‘___________. She's away on holiday.'
89.2	Complete the sentences with both/neither/either. Use of where necessary. 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 Carl, 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.
89.3	Complete the sentences with both/neither/either+ of us /of them. 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 ___________. There were two windows in the room. it was very warm, so I opened ___________. 3 4 Sarah and I play tennis together regularly, but we're not very good. ___________ can play very well: 5 I tried two bookshops for the book I wanted, but ___________ had it.
89.4	Write sentences with both ... and ... /neither ... nor ... /either ... or .... 1 Chris was late. So was Pat. ____Both Chris and Pat were late. _____________ 2 He didn't say hello, and he didn't smile. ____He neither said hello nor smiled. ______ 3 Joe is on holiday and so is Sam. _______________________________________________________ 4 Joe doesn't have a car. Sam doesn't have one either. _______________________________________________________ 5 Brian doesn't watch TV and he doesn't read newspapers. _______________________________________________________ 6 It was a boring movie. It was long too. The movie _______________________________________________________ 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 don't have the money. I have _______________________________________________________ 9 We can leave today or we can leave tomorrow - whichever you prefer. We _______________________________________________________
89.5	Complete the sentences with neither/either/none/any. 1 We tried a lot of hotels, but ____none_____of them had any rooms. I took two books with me on holiday, but I didn't read ___________ of them. I took five books with me on holiday, but I didn't read ___________ of them. 2 3 4 There are a few shops at the end of the street, but ___________ of them sells newspapers. You can phone me at ___________ time during the evening. I'm always at home. I can meet you next Monday or Friday. Would ___________ of those days suit you? John and I couldn't get into the house because ___________ of us had a key. 5 6 7

ANSWER KEY