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Tenacious Learner Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

We use 'both/neither' before a plural noun.

Hi teachers,
'a' and 'b' have already been confirmed by CJ.
a) Both means ‘the one and the other’ and refers only to two people, things, etc. together.
b) Neither means ‘not one and not the other’ and refers only to two people, things, etc. together.

Could you confirm or correct this one?
c) We use 'both/neither' before a plural noun. This noun can be a comon noun or a proper noun.

Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

Thinking Spain c) We use 'both/neither' before a plural noun . This noun can be a comon noun or a proper noun. Hi Thinking Spain, Do you mean something like this?

— Grammarfreak

  • Thinking Spain c) We use 'both/neither' before a plural noun .
  • This noun can be a comon noun or a proper noun.
  • Hi Thinking Spain, Do you mean something like this?
  • Peter and Paul are both software engineers .
  • Neither Paul nor Peter graduated from Standford.
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21 Answers
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Thinking Spainc) We use 'both/neither' before a plural noun. This noun can be a comon noun or a proper noun.
Hi Thinking Spain,
Do you mean something like this? Peter and Paul are both software engineers.
Neither Paul nor Peter graduated from Standford.
Ne
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Jim is worried about his math results. Peter is worried about his math results. They didn't have to worry.

Both boys passed easily. Boy boys are good students.
Neither boy failed. Neither boy is a bad student.
Neither of the boys failed. Neither of the boys is a bad student.
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Hi,
Thinking SpainWe use 'both/neither' before a plural noun.
No good. Consider the following example:

Neither answer is correct.

Answer is singular and the sentence above is correct.

Regards
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grammarfreakDo you mean something like this? Peter and Paul are both software engineers. Yes! Only this combination.
Hi grammarfreak,
Thank you for your reply.

TS
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RegardsNo good. Consider the following example:
Neither answer is correct.
Answer is singular and the sentence above is correct.
Hi Regards,
Thank you for your reply. Which could be a good explanation for 'neither' then?
Not discussing about 'neither of'. That one has already been explained.

TS
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Hi Grammar Geek,
Thank you for your examples. The explanation is definitely wrong. Though I took it from a book.

TS
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RegardsNeither answer is correct.
The sentence seems absolutely correct and natural, but to make myself clear, does it mean:

"Neither this answer, nor that asnwer is correct."

And would anyone be so kind as to explain the difference between "neither of" and "neither"?
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Thinking Spain grammarfreakDo you mean something like this? Peter and Paul are both software engineers. Yes! Only this combination.Hi grammarfreak,Thank you for your reply.TS
You are welcome! The other two sentences with "neither" were to show you that "neither" is always singular.
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There is no difference between:
Neither answer is correct.
and
Neither of the answers is correct.
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MaroldAnd would anyone be so kind as to explain the difference between "neither of"
Hi Marold,

These are the combinations for 'neither of'


1.

Neither of

+

the definite article
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