Neither

Neither is a word used in English to express the negation of two options or elements. It can function as a determiner, a pronoun, an adverb, or as part of the correlative conjunction neither... nor to link two negative alternatives. Its core sense is “not one and not the other.”

As a determiner, neither precedes a noun: “Neither option is acceptable.” As a pronoun, it can stand alone: “Neither arrived.” As an adverb, it appears in phrases such as “I am neither here nor there,” where it negates multiple elements in a fixed construction. As a conjunction, neither forms the common correlative pair with nor: “Neither the manager nor the assistant knew the answer.”

Grammatical considerations include subject–verb agreement and placement. With neither... nor, the verb usually agrees with the subject closest to it: “Neither the players nor the coach was ready” (singular). In other contexts, traditional usage treats neither as singular, but some modern varieties may allow plural agreement when the nearest subject is plural. When used with a prepositional phrase such as “neither of them,” the noun phrase remains branded by singular or plural agreement accordingly.

Etymology traces neither to Old English nāþer, literally “not either,” from nā “not” and ǣþer/þær “either.” The expression developed as a negating pair with nor, forming a standard way to negate two alternatives in English.

In usage, neither is often preferred for concise negation of two possibilities, though speakers may also say “not either” in informal contexts. See also: nor; either.