grammar · neutral

Either + clause/NP + or + clause/NP

Band 5-6speakingtask2

Use this structure to present two alternatives or possibilities (either... or...).

Examples

“Either you finish the report today or you hand it in tomorrow morning.”

“Either Tom or his colleagues are responsible for the mistake.”

“You can either study at home or join a revision class.”

Band 8 sentence

“Either the council increases funding for public transport, or traffic congestion in the city will keep getting worse.”

Collocations

  • Either + A + or + B (A, B can be nouns, clauses, or verbs in some forms)

Common mistakes

Either Tom or his colleagues is responsible.→Either Tom or his colleagues are responsible.

Either you come or you stay at home.→You can either come or stay at home.

I don't like either the food or the service.→I like neither the food nor the service.

Say it for a higher band

5Or→6Either + noun + or + noun→7+Either + clause/NP + or + clause/NP

Synonyms

Or

Easily confused

Neither + A + nor + B

“Neither the manager nor the staff were available.”

Both A and B

“Both the teacher and the students agreed on the plan.”

Related words

By the time + clause, clauseWhether + clause (or not)So + adjective + that + clauseEven if + clause, clauseSuch + (a/an) + noun + that + clauseIf + past perfect, would have + past participleOn the one hand + clause; on the other hand + clauseGiven that + clause, + clause

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In Complex sentences

Learn it with its set