Page 190 - English Grammar in Use

Unit both / both of neither / neither of
89 either / either of

A We use both/neither/either for two things.
You can use these words with a noun (both books, neither book etc.).
For example, you are going out to eat. There are two possible restaurants. You say:
Both restaurants are good. (not the both restaurants)
Neither restaurant is expensive.
We can go to either restaurant. I don’t mind. (= one or the other, it doesn’t matter which)
I haven’t been to either restaurant before. (= not one or the other)
You can also use both/neither/either without a noun:
‘Which do you prefer, basketball or tennis?’ ‘It’s hard to say. I like both.’
‘Is your friend British or American?’ ‘Neither. She’s Australian.’
‘Do you want tea or coffee?’ ‘Either. I don’t mind.’

B both of … / neither of … / either of …
We use both of / neither of / either of + the/these/my/Tom’s … etc. So we say ‘both of the
restaurants’, ‘both of those restaurants’ etc. (but not both of restaurants):
Both of these restaurants are good.
Neither of the restaurants we went to was expensive.
I haven’t been to either of those restaurants.
You don’t need of after both. So you can say:
Both of these restaurants are good. or Both these restaurants are good.
We also use both of / neither of / either of + us/you/them:
(talking to two people) Can either of you speak Russian?
I asked two people how to get to the station, but neither of them knew.
We say ‘both of’ before us/you/them (you need to use of):
Both of us were tired. (not Both us were …)
After neither of … a verb can be singular or plural:
Neither of them is at home. or Neither of them are at home.

C You can say:
both … and … Both Chris and Paul were late.
I was both tired and hungry when I arrived home.
neither … nor … Neither Chris nor Paul came to the party.
There was an accident outside our house, but we neither saw nor
heard anything.
either … or … I’m not sure where Maria’s from. She’s either Spanish or Italian.
Either you apologise, or I’ll never speak to you again.

D Compare either/neither/both (two things) and any/none/all (more than two):
There are two good hotels here. There are many good hotels here.
You could stay at either of them. You could stay at any of them.
We tried two hotels. We tried a lot of hotels.
⎧
Neither of them had a room. ⎧ None of them had a room.
⎨
Both of them were full. ⎨ ⎩ All of them were full.
⎩

neither do I / I don’t either ➜ Unit 51C any ➜ Units 85–86 none ➜ Units 86A, 88 all ➜ Unit 88
178 both of whom / neither of which ➜ Unit 96B both ➜ Unit 110D