1.形容詞
一般這個時候:neither 單數名詞,表示兩者都不,如:
Neither answer is correct.
兩個答案都不對。
Neither candidate was selected for the job.
申請這個工作的兩個候選人都未獲選上。
At first, neither man could speak.
起初,兩個人都不會說。
Neither party is willing to compromise and herein lies the problem.
雙方都不愿意妥協,問題就在這里。
Neither side would disclose details of the transaction
雙方均不肯披露交易細節。
Can you come on Monday or Tuesday? I’m afraid neither day is possible.
你能在星期一或星期二來嗎?恐怕兩天都不可能來。
Neither road out of town is good,but this one is better than thr other.
出城的路都不好,但這條比那條好。
Neither book was very interesting.
這兩本書都沒有什么意思。
Neither author was very strong on narrative.
兩個作者都不是很善于講故事。
Neither side can win 雙方都贏不了。
2.代詞
A. neither單獨作主語或賓語,表示兩者都不,如:
Neither had close friends at university 兩個人在上大學時都沒有親密的朋友。
We invited both of them,but neither can come.
我邀請了他們兩個人,可誰也不能來。
They both smiled; neither seemed likely to be aware of my absence for long.
他倆都笑了,看來兩人都未意識到我已離開很長時間了。
The organization had broken,no rules,but neither had it acted responsibly.
該組織已違規,甚至拋棄了規則,但是那倆人沒有讓該組織負起責。(四級考題)
B. neither of 特定的兩個人或事/us,them ,you.等
Neither of us had ever skied
我們兩個都從未滑過雪。
Neither of them could convince the other.
他們倆誰也說不服誰。
I take it that neither of you reads 'The Times'
我覺得你們倆都不讀《泰晤士報》。
Neither of these extremes is desirable 兩個極端都不可取。
Neither of the front-runners in the presidential election is a mainstream politician.
總統選舉中的兩位領先者都不是主流政治家。
Neither of them has/ have a car.
他們兩個都沒有汽車。
Neither of my parents speaks/speak a foreign language.
我的父母都不會說外語。
Neither of them is currently in paid employment.
他們倆目前都沒有掙錢的差事。
Despite his boasts that his children were brilliant, neither of them went to college.
盡管他夸贊他的兩個孩子聰明,他們卻都沒念上大學。
As far as I could tell, neither of us was under observation.
據我所知,我們倆都沒有受到監視。
Neither of them were prepared to go into the detail of their talks.
他們倆都沒準備要詳細說明他們會談的情況。
We could run off together, but neither of us wants to live the rest of our lives abroad.
我們可以一起私奔,但是我倆都不想在國外度過余生。
Neither of them thought of turning on the lunch-time news. Thus Caroline didn't hear of John's death until Peter telephoned
兩個人誰也沒有想到打開電視看午間新聞,所以直到彼得打來電話,卡羅琳才得知約翰的死訊。
Neither of the books are/is very interesting.
這兩本書沒有一本是有趣的。
3.neither 和not ……either可以互換使用,但是前一用法(常常倒裝)稍顯文縐縐;not ……either用法較為口語體。試比較:
He did not go,neither did she.=He didn’t go,and she didn’t go either.
他沒有去,她也沒有去。
He cannot speak ,neither can he hear.=He cannot speak,and cannot hear either.
他不能說話,也聽不見。
I can't ever recall Dad hugging me. Neither did I sit on his knee.
= I can't ever recall Dad hugging me.And I didn’t sit on his knee either.
我不記得爸爸曾經抱過我,我也沒在他膝蓋上坐過。
I hadn't been to New York before and neither had Jane. = I hadn't been to New York before and Jane hadn't either.
我以前沒有去過紐約,簡也沒去過。
She doesn't like the movie. Neither/Nor do I.
她不喜歡這部電影。我也不喜歡。
I haven't been to Sidney before and neither/nor has my wife.
我以前沒去過悉尼,我妻子也沒去過。
She can't get there at four, nor/ neither can I.
她四點鐘到不了那里,我也到不了。
注意:
1)、當主語是同一個人或物時,只能用nor,如:
I don’t know,nor do I care.我不知道,也不關心。
He won't be here on Monday, nor on Tuesday.
他星期一不在,星期二也不在。
He never behaves honestly, nor wisely.
他的行為既不誠實,也不聰明。
2)、當否定并列成分有兩個以上時,只能用nor多次連接,如:
You can’t sing,nor can I,nor can she.你不會唱歌,我不會,她也不會。
4. neither… nor既不…(也不…)
Neither the TV nor the video actually work/works.(連接2個主語)
電視機和錄像機都壞了。(考試時多用單數比較好)
Neither the students nor the teacher knows anything about it.
學生和老師都不知道這事。
Neither Anna nor I are interested in high finance. (連接2個主語)
安娜和我對巨額融資都不感興趣。
Neither the students nor the teacher knows anything about it.
同學們和老師對此都一無所知.
I neither knew nor cared what had happened to him.(連接2個謂語)
我既不知道也不關心他出了什么事。
Professor Hisamatsu spoke neither English nor German.
久松教授既不會講英語,也不會講德語。(連接2個賓語)
I can give you neither an opinion nor any advice (連接2個賓語)
我既不能給你意見,也不能提供任何建議。
She had neither the time nor the inclination to help them. (連接2個賓語)
她既沒有時間也不愿意幫助他們。
He had neither the time nor the inclination to think of other things
他沒有時間也不愿意去考慮其他事情。(連接2個賓語)
Death spares neither small nor great. (連接2個賓語)
死亡面前,不分貴賤。
Their house is neither big nor small.(連接2個表語)
他們的房子不大也不小。
Their house is neither big nor small. (連接2個表語)
他們的房子不大也不小。
There was neither food nor drink in the fridge. (連接2個表語)
冰箱里既沒有食物也沒有飲料。
What might have happened is neither here nor there. (連接2個表語)
曾經發生過什么事已經都不重要了。
He likes his tea neither too hot nor too cold (連接2個賓補)
他想要杯不涼不熱的茶。
Either he or I am right.
或者他對,或者我對.
She was coming back either today or tomorrow.她不是今天來就是明天來。