| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
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2. Style: Parallelism, Passives, Redundancy, and Wordiness
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| § 4. either … or / neither … nor |
| You should follow both conjunctions
in either … or … (or neither … nor …) constructions with parallel elements. If you follow either with a verb and an object, or must have a verb and an object as well. Thus you should say She can either take the examination offered to all applicants or ask for a personal interview but not She can take either the examination offered to all applicants or ask for a personal interview. Similarly, you should say You may have either the ring or the bracelet but not You may either have the ring or the bracelet. | 1 |
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| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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