Either / Or Versus Neither / Nor

______________________________________________________________________________________________
1.Either / or - used in a sentence in the affirmative sense when referring to a choice between two possibilities
We can either eat now or after the show - it's up to you.
2. Neither / nor - used in a sentence in the negative sense when you want to say that two or more things are not
true
Neither my mother nor my father went to university.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Singular Or Plural

When using either/or and neither/nor, note the following rules:

1. If both elements are singular, then the verb is singular too.
Either the father or the mother has to attend the meeting. (The nouns 'father' and 'mother' are singular; so the verb
'has' is singular too)
Neither Leila nor Nancy is going to write the report. ('Leila' and 'Nancy' are singular; so the verb ' is' is singular too)
2. However, if one of the elements is plural, then use a plural verb.
Either Sue or the girls are going to prepare dinner tonight. (The noun 'girls' is plural; so the verb 'are' is plural too)
Neither the teacher nor the students were in the classroom this morning. (The noun 'students' is plural; so the
verb 'were' is plural too)

Either / Or Versus Neither / Nor

______________________________________________________________________________________________
1.Either / or - used in a sentence in the affirmative sense when referring to a choice between two possibilities
We can either eat now or after the show - it's up to you.
2. Neither / nor - used in a sentence in the negative sense when you want to say that two or more things are not
true
Neither my mother nor my father went to university.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Singular Or Plural

When using either/or and neither/nor, note the following rules:

1. If both elements are singular, then the verb is singular too.
Either the father or the mother has to attend the meeting. (The nouns 'father' and 'mother' are singular; so the verb
'has' is singular too)
Neither Leila nor Nancy is going to write the report. ('Leila' and 'Nancy' are singular; so the verb ' is' is singular too)
2. However, if one of the elements is plural, then use a plural verb.
Either Sue or the girls are going to prepare dinner tonight. (The noun 'girls' is plural; so the verb 'are' is plural too)
Neither the teacher nor the students were in the classroom this morning. (The noun 'students' is plural; so the
verb 'were' is plural too)
Choose The Correct Word (Either, Neither, Or Both)

1. of us liked the party. We met all our friends.

2. Leila nor Amy passed the exam.

3. They are busy at the moment. They are working on a new project.

4. I'm not sure whether he is trying to be clever or controversial, but way, his article
seems full of racist ideas.

5. He sings nor dances.

6. He thinks that his wife and her mother were lying to him.

7. of the two kids did the homework. They had spent their time playing computer
games.

8. I liked them .

9. You should have your passport or your ID card available to pass the European
borders.
10. "Would you like coffee or tea?"

" will do for me.".

Choose The Correct Word (Either, Neither, Or Both)

1. of us liked the party. We met all our friends.

2. Leila nor Amy passed the exam.

3. They are busy at the moment. They are working on a new project.

4. I'm not sure whether he is trying to be clever or controversial, but way, his article
seems full of racist ideas.
 5. He sings nor dances.

6. He thinks that his wife and her mother were lying to him.

7. of the two kids did the homework. They had spent their time playing computer
games.

8. I liked them .

9. You should have your passport or your ID card available to pass the European
borders.
10. "Would you like coffee or tea?"

" will do for me.".

Indefinite Articles
There are three indefinite articles in English – two for the singular form (a, an) and one for the plural form (some).
We use an indefinite article in English when:
 We refer to something for the first time
 We refer to a general thing, and not something specific
 We describe a person’s profession
A/an We use both ‘a’ and ‘an’ in the same way but we use ‘a’ in front of a consonant, and ‘an’ in front of a vowel (a,e,i,o,u).
For example:

Here are some examples:

There’s a cat in the garden! We need an apple and an orange for the fruit salad.
I need a stamp for this letter. Is there a whiteboard in the classroom?
Sally is an accountant. She works for a multinational My husband drives a lorry.
company.
Some We use ‘some’ for the plural form of all nouns and for uncountables. (An uncountable noun is a word that only has the
singular form, e.g. ‘sugar’.) For example:

Here are some examples:

Would you like some wine? There are some fun places to go in my town.
Here are some photos of our last holiday. I eat some biscuits and drink some coffee for breakfast
We need some milk. Can you get a carton when you go every day.
out?
Some people are sunbathing in the park.
___________________________________________________________________________

Indefinite Articles
There are three indefinite articles in English – two for the singular form (a, an) and one for the plural form (some).
We use an indefinite article in English when:
 We refer to something for the first time
 We refer to a general thing, and not something specific
  We describe a person’s profession
A/an We use both ‘a’ and ‘an’ in the same way but we use ‘a’ in front of a consonant, and ‘an’ in front of a vowel (a,e,i,o,u).
For example:

Here are some examples:

There’s a cat in the garden! We need an apple and an orange for the fruit salad.
I need a stamp for this letter. Is there a whiteboard in the classroom?
Sally is an accountant. She works for a multinational My husband drives a lorry.
company.
Some We use ‘some’ for the plural form of all nouns and for uncountables. (An uncountable noun is a word that only has
the singular form, e.g. ‘sugar’.) For example:

Here are some examples:

Would you like some wine? Some people are sunbathing in the park.
Here are some photos of our last holiday. There are some fun places to go in my town.
We need some milk. Can you get a carton when you go I eat some biscuits and drink some coffee for breakfast
out? every day.
The Definite Article
The definite article in English is ‘the’, and we can use it with singular and plural nouns. We use ‘the’ when:
 We have already identified the noun we are referring to in a previous phrase
 There is only one of this thing (for example, ‘the station’ – there is only one in the city)
 We use certain expressions, especially related to physical things such as ‘the weather’, ‘the sea’, ‘the environment’.
Here are some examples:
You can’t go to the post office now. It’s closed.
Can you turn on the television?
The shopping bags are still in the car. I’ll get them.
Where’s the bottle-opener?
The students are waiting for the lesson to start.
The washing machine is broken. We need to get another one.
The presentation is ready for you to check Mrs. Harper.
What’s the weather like in your country?
No article
It can be difficult to know when not to use an article in English, especially when you translate from your native language which
has different rules for articles. Here are the main cases when we don’t use an article:
 Don’t use an article with possessive adjectives. For example, “She’s my friend” and not “She’s a my friend.”
 Don’t use an article with a general topic. For example, compare the following sentences
– I love music. (meaning music in general)
– I love the music you’re playing. (meaning this specific music)
 Don’t put an article in front of country names except when they include ‘kingdom’, ‘states’ and ‘lands’. For example:
– France (without ‘the’)
– The Netherlands (with ‘the’)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Definite Article

The definite article in English is ‘the’, and we can use it with singular and plural nouns. We use ‘the’ when:
 We have already identified the noun we are referring to in a previous phrase
 There is only one of this thing (for example, ‘the station’ – there is only one in the city)
 We use certain expressions, especially related to physical things such as ‘the weather’, ‘the sea’, ‘the environment’.
Here are some examples:
You can’t go to the post office now. It’s closed.
Can you turn on the television?
The shopping bags are still in the car. I’ll get them.
Where’s the bottle-opener?
The students are waiting for the lesson to start.
The washing machine is broken. We need to get another one.
The presentation is ready for you to check Mrs. Harper.
What’s the weather like in your country?
No article
It can be difficult to know when not to use an article in English, especially when you translate from your native language which
has different rules for articles. Here are the main cases when we don’t use an article:
 Don’t use an article with possessive adjectives. For example, “She’s my friend” and not “She’s a my friend.”
 Don’t use an article with a general topic. For example, compare the following sentences
– I love music. (meaning music in general)
– I love the music you’re playing. (meaning this specific music)
 Don’t put an article in front of country names except when they include ‘kingdom’, ‘states’ and ‘lands’. For example:
– France (without ‘the’)
– The Netherlands (with ‘the’)