| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
|
1. Grammar: Traditional Rules, Word Order, Agreement, and Case
|
| § 38. neither |
| neither or none. According to the traditional rule, neither is used only to mean “not one or the other of two.” To refer to “none of several,” none is preferred: None (not neither) of the three opposition candidates would make a better president than the incumbent. | 1 |
| singular or plural. The traditional rule also holds that neither is grammatically singular: Neither candidate is having an easy time with the press. However, it is often used with a plural verb, especially when followed by of and a plural: Neither of the candidates are really expressing their own views. | 2 |
| neither … (n)or. As a conjunction neither is properly followed by nor, not or, in formal style: Neither prayers nor curses (not or curses) did any good. | 3 |
| More at
either,
every,
none,
nor, and
or. | 4 |
|
| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
