BOTH … AND; NOT ONLY … BUT ALSO; EITHER … OR; NEITHER …NOR, with more exercises | English Grammar | Tenses

English Grammar | Tenses

Two subjects connected by both … and take a plural verb.

1.     Both my father and my brother are here

2.     Not only my father but also my brother is here

3.     Not only my brother but also my parents are here

4.     Neither my father nor my brother is here

5.     Neither my brother nor my parents are here.

When two subjects connected by not only … but also, either … or, or neither ... nor, the subject that is closer to the verb determines whether the verb is singular or plural.

Notice the parallel structure in the examples.

The same grammatical form should follow each word of the pair.

In (6): both + noun + and + noun

In (7): not only + verb + but also + verb

In (8): either + noun + or + noun

In (9): neither + adjective + nor + adjective

6) The research project will take both time and money

7) Yesterday it not only rained but (also) snowed.

8) I’ll take either math or chemistry next quarter.

9) That car is neither interesting nor accurate.

Exercise:

Fill the blank with is or are in the following.

a. Both the teacher and the student ___________ here.

b. Not only the teacher but also the students __________ here.

c. Not only the teacher but also the student ___________here

d. Neither the teacher nor the student _____________ here.

e. Either the teacher or the students ___________ planning to come.

f. Either the students or the teacher ___________ planning to come.

 Answers:

a: are, b: are, c: is, d: is, e: are, f: is

 We use even to say that something is unusual or surprising. We say even Jim ... because he is a good player and it is unusual for him to play badly. If he played badly, it must have been a bad day for the team.

Study this example:

• Our basketball team lost yesterday. We all played badly. Jim is our best player but yesterday even Jim played badly.

She always wears a jacket - even summer.