Well hello and welcome to today's lesson, my name is Rima and today we are going to
learn something very interesting. We are going to use the words either or neither in the
English language. Yes we are going to learn how these words are used and what are their usages.
So let's start with either. So either can also be pronounced as either. Okay and either
stands for one or the other or both. Now neither or neither, okay stands for not one or the
other or none. Are you confused? Well don't be it's not as complicated as it looks or
appears. I'm going to take you through the various usages of both these words either
and neither in different ways. So either and neither both these words can be used as adjectives
or pronouns or conjunctions. So let's look at the first usage which happens to be that
of an adjective or a describing word. Now look at this sentence. It’s a very simple
sentence. There were flowers on either side of the river. Okay, so let me mark the noun
and let me mark the describing word or the adjective which in this case is obviously
either. So there were flowers on either side of the river. So the word either over here
is describing which side of the river and the answer obviously is, either side of the
river. Now what is the meaning of this sentence? It means that there were flowers on either
of the sides of the river which means on the left and on the right or on both the sides
at the same time. So like I said earlier, either stands for one or the other or both.
So there were flowers on either side of the river. Now if I had to use the word neither
as an adjective, this sentence is a great example. So the sentence is neither twin was
invited to the party. Now the noun here is twin and the describing word or the adjective
is neither. So if I ask the question, which twin? And the answer is neither twin which
means yes neither is acting like an adjective. So neither twin was invited to the party means
actually none of the twins were invited to the party or not one twin or the other was
invited to the party. Okay so that is how neither can be used as an adjective in a sentence.
Well, I really hope that the usage of neither and either as adjectives is clear coz I'm
going to move on and show you, how either and neither can be used as pronouns. Now we
all know that a pronoun is a word that can be used to replace a noun. So let's look at
this sentence over here. The sentence is I have brought two dresses, you can wear either.
Okay so the word either here is replacing the noun which is dress. Otherwise you know
if you were not to use either, you could have said, I have brought two dresses, you can
wear any of the two dresses. But instead of saying that, the sentence can go as I have
brought two dresses; you can wear either, which means either here is acting like a pronoun.
So over here, the word either means that you can wear one or the other. Which means you
have a choice of two dresses, you can pick one, you can pick the other, which means you
can pick either. Simple? I hope so. Moving on I'm going to teach you, how to use neither
or neither, this word as a pronoun. Now look at this sentence, both the pups, pups meaning
puppies or small dogs. Both the pups were pure breed, as in what kind of puppies were
they? They were pure breed but neither was cute. Now the word neither here, is being
used to replace the noun which is pups. Otherwise the sentence could have gone as both the pups
were pure breed but none of the pups were cute.
Instead of that the word neither is being used to replace the noun which is why neither
is being used as the pronoun. Over here the word neither indicates that not one
nor the other pup was cute. That's right so both the pups were pure breed but not one
nor the other was cute or none of them were cute. So that is the usage of neither or neither
however you want to call it. It’s a pronoun. Well time to see how either and neither can
be used as conjunctions or joining words. Okay so over here in this sentence, the sentence
goes like, you can either play or watch TV. Now the word either over here is being used
as a conjunction or a joining word to give a choice between two things. Now what are
the two things? You can play or you can watch TV. So the word either is joining these two
options and saying choose one or the other. So you can either play or watch TV. So always
remember when you are using either as a conjunction it goes in combination with or, okay. So that's
the choice that is being offered possibly by a strict mother talking to her child. Now
let's look at how neither is used as a conjunction. Okay, so here what the sentence says is you
can neither play nor watch TV. So basically there is no choice, both ideas are negated.
So maybe the strict mother in question has a third choice for the child which is homework.
So she says you can neither play nor watch TV. So both the ideas are negated there is
absolutely no choice here and the word neither is being used as a conjunction, in combination
with nor. So whenever we are using neither as a conjunction remember that we use nor
not or. So that's how the words either and neither are used as conjunctions. So that's
how you use the words neither as adjectives, pronouns and conjunctions.
I really hope you've enjoyed the lesson and that you have learnt from it and in case you
want to figure how much you have learnt from it, all you need to do is, take a test. So
look for the link in the description below, click on it and take a test for yourself and
figure out how far you have come. It's time for me Rima to sign out, say bye and take
care. I'm going to catch you very soon with yet another lesson, till then see you.