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# neither

«neither» in Mova's school dictionary: **not this one and not that one, of two** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

determiner, pronoun (neither); conjunction (neither ... nor); adverb (neither — also not)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Neither means not this one and not that one, of two. If neither cat is black, both cats are another colour. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#m1)

2) «Neither ... nor» joins two things that are both not true: «neither tea nor milk». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#m2)

3) «Me neither» or «neither do I» means I also do not. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In school maths: used in logic and sorting problems (Venn diagrams): things that are in neither group, outside both circles. In everyday talk: «Which one? — Neither!», «I don't like spinach. — Me neither». Phrases: «neither ... nor», «neither of them», «me neither», «neither here nor there» (not important).

### examples

- Neither Tom nor Ann has a red pen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#x1)
- 5 pupils like neither tea nor milk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#x2)
- Neither box holds more than 10 balls. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#x3)
- How many children play neither sport? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#x4)
- Neither of my brothers likes football. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#x5)
- «I can't swim.» «Me neither.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#x6)
- In the Venn diagram, write the numbers in neither set outside the circles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#x7)
- She was neither hungry nor tired. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/#x8)

### note

Say «NYE-ther» or «NEE-ther» — both are right. «Neither» takes a singular verb: «neither box is full». Use with «nor», not «or». Opposite of «both»; «either» means one or the other. Maths: points to the part outside both groups: total − (in first or second). Trap: forgetting the people who are in both groups when finding «neither».

### In the corpora

- [A bot has no body, so it is neither a boy nor a girl; a name and voice are design choices.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/2-guessing-the-next-word/11/)
- [The future of AI is probably neither all wonderful nor all terrible; it depends on the choices people make.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/24-future-hopes/12/)
- [Mediterranean tortoises hibernate, and owners guided by a vet keep them steady at about 5 degrees so they neither wake early nor freeze.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/55-sleep-and-hibernation/16/)
- [Neither was the Otter.» — the Otter dived after the May-fly to eat it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/27-willows-ch1-part3-otter-badger-and-toad/32/)
- [Neither is playing with the Sea.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «neither» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/neither/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.