Grammar﹕Either... or, neither... nor
【明報專訊】Summer is coming, and the Smarties are choosing the right swimming gear for a beach party.
Bill: MoMo, I know that you learned swimming last year. Let's go to the beach together!
MoMo: Yes, but I'm not confident about my skills. It may be nice to have some supportive gear. What do you recommend?
Bill: Now that you have the basic skills, a life buoy would be too much. (1) Either a kickboard or a pair of arm floats is good enough for a dip.
MoMo: Sounds nice. I need a new swimsuit too. I've outgrown the old one. Do you have any suggestions on which one to buy?
Bill: How about this one from Energy Sports? (2) It is neither too expensive nor cheap, and its quality is excellent.
The structures "either... or" and "neither... nor" are similar as both talk about the possibility or availability of two options.
◆either... or
We use "either... or" for cases when one of the options is available.
◆neither... nor
"Neither... nor" means that both options are not true and eliminates the possibilities. The verb should be in the singular.
◆More examples
I'm happy if either Mary or John becomes the team leader. (= only one of them can become the team leader)
Neither Tammy nor Charlie knows how to answer the question. (= both of them don't know the answer) (picture 3)
■Now you try
(Answers on next text)
Fill in the blanks with "either... or" or "neither... nor".
1. She speaks English with an accent. I guess she is ________ French ___ Italian.
2. It was raining heavily when we were in Tokyo. We could visit ________ the Yoyogi Park ___ Ueno Park.
3. ________ Mandy ___ Karen can join us at the cinema tonight. They are preparing for the drama competition tomorrow.
4. I may get ________ a pair of socks ___ a shirt for my uncle's birthday.
■Glossary
gear (n) 用具
recommend (v) 推薦
kickboard (n) 浮板
outgrow (v) 長大得穿不下
[Smarties' Power English 第217期]
