use of either

Either… or… connects two choices: I’ve saved some money to buy either [choice 1] a DVD player or [choice 2] an MP3 player. We use either… or… to connect items which are the same grammatical type, e.g. words, phrases, clauses: We can either pre- or post-date the document. I don’t mind. (connecting prefixes) It’s either black or grey. I can’t remember. (connecting words) You can stay either with me or with Janet. (connecting phrases) Either I drive to the airport or I get a taxi. (connecting clauses) The opposite of either… or… is neither… nor…. We use it to make negative statements connecting items: We got so wet. We had neither umbrellas nor raincoats with us! Neither our families nor our friends know that we are getting married!

Either Grammar > Nouns, pronouns and determiners > Quantifiers > Either from English Grammar Today Either is a determiner, a pronoun, an adverb or a conjunction. We can pronounce either /ˈaɪðə(r)/ or /ˈi:ðə(r)/. Either as a determiner Either referring to two choices or possibilities We can use either as a determiner before a noun to talk about two choices or possibilities. The noun that follows either must be a singular countable noun: Personally, I don’t like either jacket. Not: … I don’t like either jackets. Either restaurant will be okay, as they both serve vegetarian food. (It doesn’t matter which of the two restaurants you go to.) Either of Either must be followed by of if we use it before the, these, those or possessives (my, your) with a plural noun: Either of the children can come with us; we don’t mind which. I don’t want either of my parents to know I’ve lost my job. Not: I don’t want either my parents … Either meaning ‘both’ Either as a determiner before a singular countable noun can mean ‘both’: There were shops on either side of the street. Either as a pronoun We can use either as a pronoun: A: Which sweater do you like, the green one or the blue one? B: I don’t like either. (I don’t like the green one and I don’t like the blue one.) A: What colour paper do you want, white or cream? B: Either. It doesn’t matter. Either as an adverb We can use either as an adverb after a negative verb: It was a really nice hotel, and it wasn’t very expensive either. She doesn’t like eggs and she doesn’t like fish either. Either as a conjunction We can use either with or as a conjunction to connect two clauses: Either we go by train or we rent a car. Which do you prefer?