correctlyeither

Correctlyeither is a term used in linguistic discussions to describe a set of guidelines aimed at the correct use and interpretation of the correlative conjunction either… or in English. The concept centers on aligning the disjunction with the intended semantic reading, particularly whether the reading is exclusive or inclusive, and on preserving syntactic parallelism between the coordinated elements. While not part of formal grammars in widespread use, correctlyeither appears in pedagogical and theoretical writing as a handy label for diagnosing ambiguity and guiding sentence construction.

In practice, correctlyeither emphasizes four core considerations: parallel structure on both sides of the coordinator, consistent determiner and determiner-noun agreement, clear scope of negation or quantifiers, and avoidance of constructions that blur which option is meant. Examples commonly cited as correctly using either include: “You may have either the red shirt or the blue shirt.” and “You may take either the bus or the train.” Ambiguities or less careful forms often discussed under the umbrella of correctlyeither arise when articles, adjectives, or modifiers fail to match the coordinated elements, or when additional phrases disrupt the intended exclusive or inclusive reading.

Status and reception of the term vary; correctlyeither is not standard in major reference grammars and is mainly found in academic notes, teaching materials, and discussions of disjunction. It serves as a heuristic for learners and researchers to spot potential ambiguity and to standardize explanations of how either… or behaves across different contexts. See also: exclusive or, disjunction, correlative conjunctions.