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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > "Neither .... nor ..." or "Either ... or ..."
"Neither .... nor ..." or "Either ... or ..."
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Alyona C.
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"Neither .... nor ..." or "Either ... or ..."
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Hi!
Dear teachers,
help to make up sentences with "Neither .... nor ..." or "Either ... or ...".
The hotel �s room wasn �t comfortable. And it wasn �t clean.
I think:
The hotel �s room wasn �t either comfortable or clean.
The hotel �s room was neither comfortable nor clean.
Is that woman �s name Jane? Or is it Kate? It �s one of the two.
I think:
Is that woman �s name either Jane or Kate?
Thanks!!!
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24 Apr 2010
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L. habach
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the first sentence should be
The hotel �s room wasn �t either comfortable nor clean.
the second sentence is correct.
Look at these sentences:
Look at that man in the street. He is either mad or drunk.
Oh no! That �s Jim. I know him. He is neither mad nor drunk. It �s his way of walking.
Hey! Look Sarah. You either keep quiet or leave the meeting.
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24 Apr 2010
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ditku
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Hi!
The sentence:
"The hotel �s room wasn �t either comfortable or clean."
is definitely incorrect. You use �either ... or �in positive sentences, and �neither ... nor � in negative ones.
I also think that the question is ill-formed. I guess in the example provided you were to use �either ... or �, but not necessarily in a question, e.g. This woman �s name is either Jane or Kate. (I don �t know for sure).
Best Regards!
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24 Apr 2010
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mike2010
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Please disregard the previous answers. Actually, both sentences are 100% correct. The second variant is more in use than the first. That is why many people think it is incorrect to say so. The main rule is to use one negation in the sentence. Since both of them fall under this rule, then they are good. That is why both are correct to say. |
24 Apr 2010
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aliciapc
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I completely agree with Mike, although it would be good for us if a native speaker gave us an opinion ...  |
24 Apr 2010
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colibrita
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The hotel room was neither comfortable nor clean.
That woman �s name is either Jane or Kate.
or: That woman �s name is either Jane or Kate, isn �t it?
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24 Apr 2010
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sulekra
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As ditku said that either is not used in a negative, it �s redundant. You could just use "the room wasn �t comfortable or clean."
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24 Apr 2010
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