Both, either and neither: tricks to avoid making mistakes
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 5:43 am
When we are comparing two things, it is very useful to connect the description with words like “both” or “neither”. In English, the qualifiers “either” and “neither” are used to speed up and give style to our message. Being able to do this in English can be useful in many contexts, such as B2 Speaking . But be careful! There are words that are very similar and can lead us to mistakes. We tell you what the most common mistakes are and give you tips to avoid making them when using “either” and “neither”.
Downloadable guide: The most common mistakes made by Spaniards and how to avoid them
Remember that both words are used with a positive verb , but to bolivia phone number list opposite things. They can never be combined with a negative verb, because to do so you would have to change the word, as we explain below.
« Either » and « neither » to say «None»
This pair is particularly problematic because they look so similar. Fortunately, one of their essential differences is quite obvious: the initial “n” indicates that it is a negative word . Therefore, “ either ” is its positive form. Let’s see it with an example:
Neither of them eats meat. —No one eats meat.
I can't see either of them. - I don't see any .
If you notice, in the first sentence, the verb is in the positive form. If it were in the negative form, we would be committing the typical double negation error that causes so many problems for Spanish speakers. However, in the second example, the verb is in the negative form, so we would need to use the positive version of the word.
Downloadable guide: The most common mistakes made by Spaniards and how to avoid them
Remember that both words are used with a positive verb , but to bolivia phone number list opposite things. They can never be combined with a negative verb, because to do so you would have to change the word, as we explain below.
« Either » and « neither » to say «None»
This pair is particularly problematic because they look so similar. Fortunately, one of their essential differences is quite obvious: the initial “n” indicates that it is a negative word . Therefore, “ either ” is its positive form. Let’s see it with an example:
Neither of them eats meat. —No one eats meat.
I can't see either of them. - I don't see any .
If you notice, in the first sentence, the verb is in the positive form. If it were in the negative form, we would be committing the typical double negation error that causes so many problems for Spanish speakers. However, in the second example, the verb is in the negative form, so we would need to use the positive version of the word.