Both and Neither

 

“Both” means “the two”, affirmative, while neither means “the two”, negative.

Examples:

1. Both of us like coffee. (Or, the two of us like coffee)

2. Neither of us like coffee. (Or, the two of us don’t like coffee)

 

Structure:

Both: Both + of + object pronoun/noun + verb + other words.

Neither: Neither + of + object pronoun/noun + verb + other words.

 

Examples:

1. Both of them have beautiful eyes.

2. Neither of them have sad eyes.

3. Both of the boys are handsome.

4. Neither of the boys are ugly.

5.  Both of us dislike soap operas.

6. Neither of us like soap operas.

 

 

Note: “Neither”, which means not either of the two things, is considered grammatically singular. However, it is normally followed by plural nouns or pronouns. Thus, the boundary between singular and plural is blurred. It can go either with a singular pr plural verb form.