whats the difference in meaning?

Question

Two men, neither of whom I had never seen before, came into my office. VS.Two men that I had never seen before came into my office.

Blue Jay · Accepted Answer

The first means that you had seen them both before, the second means that you had not seen either of them before.

Anonymous · Answer

How is it? It clearly says, 'never seen before'.

Blue Jay · Answer

Anonymous How is it? It clearly says, 'never seen before'.

Yes, but it also says neither, which means not either. Let's call them Joe and Fred. Neither Joe nor Fred is a man whom I had never met before = Joe is not a man whom I had never met before and Fred is not a man I had never met before = I had met both Joe and Fred before.
If you want to say you hadn't met them before, you could say:
Two men, neither of whom I had ever seen before, came into my office.
Two men whom I had never seen before came into my office.

whats the difference in meaning?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions