neither

neither — 限定詞

1. used before a singular noun to show that you are talking about both of two peopl

1.限定詞A2
釋義

兩者都不

用於單數名詞前；兩個都不是

used before a singular noun to show that you are talking about both of two people or things and saying that not one of them is involved or true.

例句

Neither parent knew that their son had skipped school that day.

雙方父母都不知道他們的兒子那天翹課了。

neither + singular noun (parent)

The two candidates gave short speeches, but neither speech convinced the voters.

兩位候選人都發表了簡短的演說，但兩場演說都沒能說服選民。

同義詞
  • no

    more general; 'no' works with any number of items, while 'neither' is limited to two

  • not one

    emphatic, used in informal speech to stress that none of the two counts

反義詞
  • either

    refers to one or the other of two, not both; opposite in meaning when used with negatives

文法句型

neither + [singular noun]

neither + [singular noun phrase]

用法筆記

The noun after 'neither' is always singular, and the verb that follows must also be singular — even when the noun refers to a group of people, as in 'Neither family was willing to move.'

常見錯誤

❌Neither options were good.
✅Neither option was good.
💡The noun after 'neither' must be singular, and the verb must agree.
❌Neither of the answer was correct.' (using 'neither of' with singular noun)
✅Neither answer was correct.' or 'Neither of the answers was correct.
💡Use 'neither of' only before plural noun phrases.
❌Neither my parents knew about the party.
✅Neither of my parents knew about the party.
💡When the noun is plural (parents), you need 'neither of' instead of plain 'neither'.

2. used with 'nor' to connect two noun phrases, showing that both are not true and

2.限定詞B1
釋義

都不…也不…

以 nor 連接兩個名詞片語，兩者皆否定

used with 'nor' to connect two noun phrases, showing that both are not true and that the negative statement applies to each of them.

例句

Neither the manager nor the staff knew about the sudden inspection.

經理和員工都不知道突如其來的稽查。

verb agreement with noun after 'nor' (staff = plural → knew)

Devika speaks neither French nor Spanish, so she uses English at work.

Devika 既不會說法語，也不會說西班牙語，所以她工作時說英語。

反義詞
  • both

    'both' affirms the two items together; 'neither...nor' denies each individually

文法句型

neither + [noun phrase] + nor + [noun phrase]

用法筆記

When two subjects are connected by 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the noun phrase that follows 'nor' — the one closest to the verb. Compare: 'Neither the teacher nor the students were ready.' vs 'Neither the students nor the teacher was ready.'

常見錯誤

❌Neither the teacher nor the students was ready.
✅Neither the teacher nor the students were ready.
💡The verb agrees with 'students', which is plural.
❌She neither eats meat or fish.
✅She eats neither meat nor fish.
💡Use 'nor', not 'or', with 'neither'. Also, position 'neither' directly before the first item being paired.

neither — 代名詞

neither — 副詞

neither — 連接詞