 Difference between either and neither from espressoenglish.net. Both these words have two possible pronunciations. Either and either. Neither and neither. Both are correct. First let's learn how to use either. When we have two options, the word either means only one of the two, but not the other. For example, you can have either chocolate ice cream or vanilla. Which one would you like? Come visit on either Monday or Wednesday. If he's not in his office, he's either in the bathroom or out to lunch. When someone offers you a choice between two things and you don't care which one is chosen, you can respond with either one. For example, would you like coffee or tea? Either one, whatever everyone else is having. We have these two photos. Which one do you want to use in the brochure? Either one, they both look good to me. Now let's look at neither. Not either and neither both mean not one thing and not the other thing. For example, I don't speak either French or Spanish is the same as I speak neither French nor Spanish. This means I don't speak French and I don't speak Spanish. You could also say I don't speak either of those languages or I speak neither of those languages. As you can see in the example sentences, we use not either or and neither nor when naming the two items specifically. I speak neither French nor Spanish and we use not either of and neither of when saying the two items together as a group. I speak neither of those languages. Here's some more examples. Neither my mother nor my father likes to travel. Neither of my parents like to travel. We use neither and nor when naming both items specifically and neither of when talking about my parents together as a group. Neither the first book nor the second book was very good. Neither of the books was very good or neither book was very good. When the two things are of the same type, as in two books, we can say neither of the books or neither book. When someone offers you a choice between two things and you dislike both or you don't want the first thing and you don't want the second thing, then you can respond with neither or neither one. For example, do you want a sandwich or a piece of pizza? Neither. I'm actually not hungry at all. Which of these two candidates do you think is better for the job? Neither one. We need somebody more experienced. When somebody makes a negative statement that's a statement with the word not in it, you can use not either or neither to say also not. The structure of the reply is a little different depending on which one you use. So let's look at some examples. If someone says I can't swim, you can say I can't either or neither can I or you can say me neither. That's an informal way to say it. Kate didn't come to class today. Bob didn't either or neither did Bob. We haven't bought our tickets yet. We haven't either or neither have we. Both of these options are correct and they mean the same thing. If you'd like to learn more about English grammar, check out the Advanced English Grammar course available at espressoenglish.net. This course will help you master the details of the English language and take your English from good to great.