LESSON # 1

APRIL 06-10

GRAMMAR

•BOTH, AND NEITHER EITHER ALLOW US TO SPEAK OF PAIRS OF

PEOPLE, SITUATIONS, ETC., AND DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS THAT

CAN EXIST BETWEEN THEM: BOTH, NEITHER, OR WHATEVER. IN

TODAY'S LESSON WE WILL ANALYZE IN DETAIL THE CONTEXTS AND

RESTRICTIONS REGARDING USE OF THESE EXPRESSIONS.

1. BOTH ("BOTH")A. YOU CAN ACCOMPANY A NOUN OR A PRONOUN:

1. IF IT IS A PLURAL NOUN PRECEDED BY AN ARTICLE OR A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE, USE BOTH (OF). THE

PREPOSITION OF IS OPTIONAL:

BOTH (OF) HIS PARENTS ARE FROM FRANCE.

IMPORTANT: SEE THAT THE VERB IS USED IN THE PLURAL.

2. IF IT IS A PRONOUN, USE BOTH OF. IN THIS CASE THE PREPOSITION IS MANDATORY:

BOTH OF THEM PASSED THE EXAM UNAVAILABLE.

3. IF IT IS A PLURAL NOUN WITHOUT DETERMINATION (OR ARTICLES, OR POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES), USE BOTH,

WITHOUT THE PREPOSITION OF:

BOTH MINISTERS LEFT THE PARTY.

B. IT CAN BE A PRONOUN. BOTH IN THIS CASE IS USED ONLY:

DO YOU NEED SUGAR OR FLOUR? I NEED BOTH.

C. THE EXPRESSION BOTH ... AND ... CAN RELATE TWO ATTRIBUTES,

SITUATIONS, IDEAS, ETC:

SHE IS PRETTY AND CLEVER BOTH.

I LIKE BOTH BEER AND WINE.

BOTH I CAN SWIM AND DIVE.

REMARKS:

1. BOTH CAN NOT LEAD A COMPLETE SENTENCE ON BOTH ... AND STRUCTURE .... THEREFORE,

WE CAN NOT SAY: * BOTH I CAN SWIM AND DIVE.

2. BOTH ... AND ... RELATED EQUIVALENT GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES: TWO NOUNS, TWO

ADJECTIVES, TWO VERBS.

3. BOTH ... AND ... IS USED IN AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES

2. NEITHER

A. YOU CAN ACCOMPANY A NOUN OR A PRONOUN:

I. IF IT IS A PLURAL NOUN PRECEDED BY AN ARTICLE OR A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE, NEITHER OF USE. THE PREPOSITION OF IS

MANDATORY:

NEITHER OF MY SISTERS IS MARRIED.

NEITHER OF THEM HAS A CAR.

IMPORTANT:

NOTICE THAT THE VERB IS SINGULAR. IN A MORE INFORMAL REGISTER YOU CAN ALSO USE A PLURAL VERB:

NEITHER OF MY SISTERS ARE MARRIED.

II. NEITHER CAN ALSO BE USED WITH A SINGULAR NOUN. IN THIS CASE THE PREPOSITION OF NOT USED:

CAN YOU COME ON THURSDAY OR ON FRIDAY? I'M AFRAID NEITHER DAY IS VERY CONVENIENT.

B. IT CAN ALSO BE AN ADVERB. IN THIS CASE NEITHER MEANS "NOT":

I DO NOT SING. // ME, NEITHER (ME NEITHER) // NEITHER DO I.

C. THE EXPRESSION NEITHER ... NOR ... CAN RELATE TWO CONCEPTUAL. ITS MEANING WOULD BE "NEITHER ...

.NI ...":

I SPEAK NEITHER FRENCH NOR GERMAN.

I NEITHER SMOKE NOR DRINK.

1. NEITHER CAN NOT LEAD A FULL SENTENCE. THEREFORE, WE CAN NOT SAY: * SMILED NEITHER I NOR SPOKE. (CORRECT: HE NEITHER

SPOKE NOR SMILED)

2. IF NEITHER ... NOR ... RELATES A MULTIPLE SUBJECT, THE VERB USUALLY IN THE FORM OF SINGULAR. IN AN INFORMAL LOG CAN ALSO

USE THE PLURAL:

NEITHER JOHN NOR PETER WAS AT HOME. // NEITHER JOHN NOR PETER WERE AT HOME (INFORMAL).

3. NEITHER ... NOR ... USED PHRASES NEGATIVE MEANING, BUT WITH AN AFFIRMATIVE VERB. THAT AVOIDS A DOUBLE NEGATIVE.

REMARKS:

3. EITHER

A. YOU CAN ACCOMPANY A NOUN OR A PRONOUN:

I. IF IT IS A PLURAL NOUN PRECEDED BY AN ARTICLE OR POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE EITHER OF USE. THE PREPOSITION OF IS

MANDATORY:

YOU CAN USE EITHER OF THE BEDROOMS.

ASK TIM OR JANE. EITHER OF THEM IS PERFECTLY RELIABLE TO HELP YOU.

IMPORTANT:

NOTICE THAT THE VERB IS SINGULAR. IN A MORE INFORMAL REGISTER YOU CAN ALSO USE A PLURAL VERB:

EITHER OF THEM ARE PERFECTLY RELIABLE TO HELP YOU.

II. EITHER CAN ALSO BE USED WITH A SINGULAR NOUN. IN THIS CASE THE PREPOSITION

OF NOT USED:

CAN YOU COME ON THURSDAY OR ON FRIDAY? EITHER DAY IS VERY CONVENIENT.

III. EITHER CAN BE A PRONOUN. IN THIS CASE IT IS USED ALONE:

WOULD YOU LIKE TEA OR COFFEE? I DO NOT MIND. EITHER.

B. IT CAN ALSO BE AN ADVERB. EITHER IN THIS CASE IT IS USED TO ACCUMULATE

NEGATIVE SITUATIONS AND ITS MEANING IS "NO". UNLIKE NEITHER, EITHER IS USED

WHEN THE VERB HAS THE NEGATIVE FORM:

I DO NOT SING. // I DO NOT SING, EITHER.

C. THE EXPRESSION EITHER ... OR ... LETS YOU CHOOSE BETWEEN TWO POSSIBILITIES:

EITHER YOU CAN COME WITH ME OR WAIT HERE.

YOU CAN HAVE EITHER TEA OR COFFEE.

1. EITHER ... OR ... RELATED EQUIVALENT GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES: TWO NOUNS, TWO VERBS, ETC.

2. WHEN THE VERB IS NEGATIVE, THE MEANING EITHER ... OR ... CHANGES TO "NEITHER ... NOR". IN THIS CASE, EITHER ...

OR ... BECOMES EQUIVALENT TO NEITHER ... NOR, BUT IN A NEGATIVE VERB PHRASE:

I SPEAK NEITHER FRENCH NOR GERMAN.

EITHER I DO NOT SPEAK FRENCH OR GERMAN.

REMARKS:

EXERCISE