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Hanuman_2000 Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Either

Sir,

The "Either" as a adjective takes "singular countanle noun" i.e

Either road is long.

Either roads are long.(It is wrong.)

But,when we use either ... or like .....

Either the students or the teachers are reading the books.

Why "the students" ,which is plural form of "student" after Either.

Please help me.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

In this case, "Either the students or the teachers are reading the books", either does not affect "students". The sentence could also read "Either the student or the teachers are reading the book". The first sentence means that many students or teachers could be reading the book.

— King

  • In this case, "Either the students or the teachers are reading the books", either does not affect "students".
  • The sentence could also read "Either the student or the teachers are reading the book".
  • The first sentence means that many students or teachers could be reading the book.
  • The second means that either one student or one of several teachers are reading the book.
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2 Answers
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In this case, "Either the students or the teachers are reading the books", either does not affect "students". The sentence could also read "Either the student or the teachers are reading the book". The first sentence means that many students or teachers could be reading the book. The second means that either one student or one of several teachers are reading the book.
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As far as 'either' is concerned, you need to take two different approaches.
Approach 1: When you take 'either' alone, it is used as a pronoun, an adjective, or even an adverb.
Pronoun: (1)Either is fine.
(2)Either of the sisters is as tall as Joanne. (‘is’ is grammatically correct
though ‘are’ is often heard in reality; ‘sisters’
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