Welcome to
ESL Printables, the website where English Language teachers exchange resources: worksheets, lesson plans,  activities, etc.
Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If you want to download you have to send your own contributions.

 


 

 

 

ESL Forum:

Techniques and methods in Language Teaching

Games, activities and teaching ideas

Grammar and Linguistics

Teaching material

Concerning worksheets

Concerning powerpoints

Concerning online exercises

Make suggestions, report errors

Ask for help

Message board

 

ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > grammar problem    

grammar problem



idalathif
Indonesia

grammar problem
 
hi friends.....
i have a problem with �neither - nor � and �either-or � using. which one is correct:
either James or Sarah is crying because of their bad score, or
either James or Sarah is crying because of her bad score.

please help me!!!

6 Dec 2012      





yanogator
United States

The sentence really doesn �t make much sense, but the best option would be "Either James or Sarah is crying because of their bad scores". They probably have their own scores, so the first option doesn �t work. I guess, if James is extremely sympathetic, he might cry about Sarah �s score. Is there some context for this sentence?
 
Bruce

6 Dec 2012     



pikola
Spain

Maybe you want to say:
"Both James and Sarah are crying because of their bad scores"

7 Dec 2012     



dillydi
United Kingdom

If you look up both words using an online dictionary that will help you with the usage of these words...

7 Dec 2012     



miyoko71
Morocco

I agree with pikola.if you use" either......or", it means that just one of them is crying because of their bad scores, and we aren �t sure who of them.
you can use(neither....nor) to mean that none of them is crying because of the bad score

7 Dec 2012     



cunliffe
United Kingdom

Nobody uses �nor � any more. I �ve even seen English teachers mark it wrong! People say �Neither...... or. � 

7 Dec 2012     



yanogator
United States

Thanks for that note, Lynne. I hadn �t thought about it, but now I realize that people don �t use "nor". Since I still do, and "neither" isn �t a very common word anyway, it just didn �t occur to me.
 
Bruce

7 Dec 2012