B1 Grammar : Both, Either, Neither, Nor 

We use both, either and neither to talk about two things or people.

both= A and B (the two things or people)

either= A or B (one thing/person or the other thing/person)

neither= not A and not B (zero out of two things or people)

Both / either / neither + noun

We can use both/either/neither + noun

• I like both cars. 

• You can park on either side of the street. 

• Neither parent was at the meeting. 

Note that we use both + plural noun and either/neither + singular noun.
 

Both (of) / either of / neither of

We can use both (of) / either of / neither of + the/these/my/her/Peter’s/etc. + noun

• Both (of) your parents are really nice. 

• Either of those two dates is perfect for the wedding. (=We can choose one or the other)

• Neither of the tennis players had a great game. 

Note that we don’t need of after both.

• Both of your parents are really nice. = Both your parents are really nice.

We can use both of / either of / neither of + us/you/them

• Both of them did very well in the exam. (NOT Both them)

• Can either of you give me a coin for the vending machine? 

• Neither of us knows the truth.

Both / either / neither (without a noun)

We can use both/either/neither alone, without a noun.

• A: Do you speak French or Spanish? B: I speak both. 

• A: Do you want tea or coffee? B: Either. I don’t mind.

• A: Which car do you prefer? B: Neither. I think both of them are horrible. 

Both … and …/ either … or … / neither … nor …

We can say both … and …/ either … or … / neither … nor … to mention the two things or people that we are talking about.

• She ate both the rice and the meat.

• Both Susan and Peter helped me with my report. 

• You need to speak one foreign language, either Spanish or French. 

• You can either wait here or go home. 

• I like neither maths nor physics. 

• He neither called nor texted.  

Remember this!

Use either and neither a singular verb.

• Either candidate is good. 

• Neither of the candidates is good. 

(not) either= neither.

• I don’t like either of the options. = I like neither of the options.

The word neither is negative, so we use it with positive verbs.

• Neither John nor Paula can come. (NOT Neither … can’t come.)

We also use the word both with positive verbs. We can only use either with negative verbs.

• I didn’t like either of the pictures. (NOT I didn’t like both/neither of the pictures.)

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Reference Link: https://test-english.com/explanation/b1/both-either-neither/