Both / Both of us, neither / neither of, either / either of

 

We use both, neither and either when we are talking about two things. You can use these words with a noun:

●Both restaurants are very expensive. (Not the both restaurants)

●Neither restaurant is expensive.

●We can go either restaurant. I don’t care. (Either=one or the other; it doesn’t matter which one)

●I didn’t like either restaurant. (Not the one or the other)

You can also use both/neither/either with of….When you use these words with of; you always need the/these/those/my/yours/his, etc. You cannot say, “Both of restaurants.” You have to say “Both of the restaurants,” etc.:

●Both of these restaurants are very good.

●Neither of the restaurants we went to, was (or were) expensive.

●We can go to either of those restaurants. I don’t mind.

With both you can leave out of. So you can say:

Both my parents        or

Both of my parents

After both of / neither of / either of you can also use us/them/you:

●Can either of you speak Spanish?

●I wanted Tom and Jim to come, but neither of them wanted to.

You must say: “both of” before us/you/them:

●Both of us were very tired. (Not both us…)

After neither of…you can use a singular or a plural verb:

●Neither of the children wants (or want) to go to bed.

●Neither of us is (or are) married.

You can say both…and…, neither…nor…, and either…or… Study these examples:

●Both Tom and Jack were late.

●They were both tired and hungry.

●Neither Jill nor Jane came to the party.

●He said he would contact me, but he neither wrote nor called.

●I’m not sure where he is from. He’ll either Spanish or Italian.

●Either you apologize or I’ll never speak to you again.

You can also use both/neither/either alone:

● “Is he British or American?”    “Neither. He’s Australian.”

● “Do you want tea or coffee?”   “Either. It doesn’t matter.”

●I couldn’t decide which one to choose. I liked both.