Neither/None/Either

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Neither/None/Either
Message from littleteacher posted on 30-10-2012 at 23:28:37 (D | E | F)
Hello!

I hope you are all having a great day.
I've been trying to brush up on my grammar, and I have one last question for today.
Could you please help me with the use of "neither (of)/ none (of)/ either (of)"?
Again, I have some example sentences, but they don't really make sense to me.
1. You can use either.
2. You can use either pen.
3. You can use either of them.
The second sentence sounds the most natural in my opinion, but maybe I'm wrong. Are these three sentences correct, and do they differ in meaning?

I know that "You can use any pen" refers to more than two pens. Can I say "You can use any." or do I need to put a noun after any?
Could you please look at these neither/none of sentences too? I don't really understand the difference between these two expressions, and how they can be used.
1. I bought neither.
2. I bought neither book.
3. I bought neither of them.

My grammar book says that neither is used with two elements, and none with more than two.
He went to the store to buy books but he bought none.

Last but not least, the plurals:
1. Neither of the boys is listening to you.
2. Neither of the boys are listening to you.
3. None of the four boys are listening to you.
4. None of the four boys is listening to you.

These sentences sound a bit off in my opinion. Could someone please explain to me when to use "is" and "are" in these situations?
Thank you!

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Edited by lucile83 on 30-10-2012 23:41

Re: Neither/None/Either from notrepere, posted on 31-10-2012 at 05:04:00 (D | E)
Hello

Which pen should I use? You can use either (one) -or- You can use either pen -or- You can use either of them.

You can also just say "Either" or "Either one" in informal situations.

>>I know that "You can use any pen" refers to more than two pens. Can I say "You can use any." or do I need to put a noun after any?

"any" means "it is not important which person or thing you choose" not necessarily more than two.

Could you please look at these neither/none of sentences too? I don't really understand the difference between these two expressions, and how they can be used.
1. I bought neither. (Used when we know what you're referring to) Did you buy the book or the magazine?
2. I bought neither book. (Book is not required.) Which book did you buy?
3. I bought neither of them. (Another option.)

You can also say "Neither", "Neither of them" or "Neither one".

My grammar book says that neither is used with two elements, and none with more than two.
He went to the store to buy books but he bought none.

Last but not least, the plurals:
1. Neither of the boys is listening to you. (We are concerned about the boys as individuals, so we use a singular verb)
2. Neither of the boys are listening to you. (The boys, as a collective, are not listening. We just care about the fact that they are not listening.)
3. None of the four boys are listening to you.
4. None of the four boys is listening to you.

It's a bit odd to specify four boys unless that fact is important. Generally, you'd say:

None of the boys is/are listening to you. -or- None of those boys...

Re: Neither/None/Either from littleteacher, posted on 31-10-2012 at 09:53:33 (D | E)
Hello

Thanks a lot for the explanations! I was really confused at first, but now I understand how to use these words.
I'll write all of this down so that I don't forget the rules.

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Edited by littleteacher on 31-10-2012 09:53

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