Either, neither, and both are used when talking about two things or people. They have distinct meanings and grammatical patterns. Getting them right signals a confident intermediate level of English.
Use both when you mean "the two" together in a positive way. Both can be a determiner before a plural noun (both students), a pronoun replacing a noun (both are correct), or part of a correlative conjunction (both… and…). Both always refers to exactly two things.
Practice
___ candidates were qualified for the position.
She speaksFrench and Spanish fluently.
Put the words in the correct order:
Use either to mean "one or the other (but not both)" when giving a choice between two options. As a determiner it takes a singular noun and singular verb: "Either option is fine." In the correlative "either… or…", the verb agrees with the noun closest to it.
Practice
You can take ___ the bus or the train — they both go to the city centre.
Either answeracceptable in this context.
Put the words in the correct order:
Use neither to mean "not one and not the other" — a negative statement about two things. As a determiner it takes a singular noun and singular verb: "Neither option is perfect." In "neither… nor…", the verb agrees with the closer noun. Never add "not" alongside neither — it already carries the negative meaning.
Practice
"Did you like the first or second proposal?" — "___, to be honest. I think we need a new approach."
Neither the manager nor the staffinformed about the changes.
Put the words in the correct order: