Alternative

SIMILITUDE

- both … and …

e.g.: They helped both me and my parents. You left a lot of dirt both in the kitchen and in the entrance hall. She practises both in the morning and in the afternoon. Both negotiating and motivating are human skills required in managing. The manager will both issue a circular and call a meeting in order to explain the changes. The note was signed by both the general accountant and the chief manager. We have a break both for tea and for lunch. In England it’s rainy both in autumn and in winter.



ALTERNATIVES - either … or … e.g.: Either the students or the teacher is right. You may either come later or leave a message. We’ll open either a subsidiary company or a branch (office) in Timisoara. She can’t have gone out; she must be either cooking or sleeping. You’ll find it either in your pockets or in the drawer. They must have left either in the morning or at noon, not later. You must be either indolent or silly.



NO ALTERNATIVE -

neither ... nor … or (not) + either …. or …

e.g.: Neither the employer nor the employees have been affected by these measures. Alison will neither sing nor play the guitar this time. They’ve met with neither friendliness nor hostility, they were treated with utter indifference. Anthony didn’t make himself conspicuons either by planning or by organizing skills. I’ll have neither cheese nor fish, as I’m fasting. Surprisingly, they look neither tired nor bored. He was not to be found either at the office or at home. You won’t have either Cola or chocolate, you’ll go to bed !



CHOICE

If there are only two alternatives we may choose either (the Afirmative), or neither/ (not) either (the Negative), e.g.: His parents are doctors, either of them could treat him. “Would you come on rather Tuesday?” “Either day will suit me.” There were small but smart shops on either side of the street. If either gets tired, the other drives on. Both my son and daughter attended the college in England, but neither can speak good English. “Which of these two do you prefer?” “Neither.” Personally, I don’t belive either of them. “Have you seen his first or his second play?”“I haven’t seen either.”

If there are several alternatives we may choose any (the Affirmative), or none (no one)/ not any (the Negative), e.g.: If any of you wants to ask a question, do it now. You may come at any time you want. I suppose any of These books will do. Did you see any sign of improvement? I’m sure none of them could have donethat. I’m afraid there’s no one left. I haven’t any relatives in town.ss There’s hardly any chance of success. She did it without any difficulty. Any but you could have found an answer. • hardly, without, but have a negative meaning, so that the verb is no longer used in the negative.



SIMILARITY OF EXPERIENCE

If similar actions are (not) performed/ experience are (not)undergone by both the speaker and his interlocutor, we use: - in the Affirmative: so + inversion/ normal topic, too

e.g.: She speaks german quite well. So does her husband./ Her husband does, too. They’re always complaining about something or the other. So is your son./Your son is, too. I’ve made up my mind! So have we!/ We have, too. She’ll miss the bus if she doesn’t hurry. So shall we./ We shall, too if we keep watching her. I saved a lot of money since I gave up smoking. So did Ada./ Ada did, too. We were going to a pic-nic when the storm broke. So was my son./my son was, too. Ian should be more polite. So should you./ I should, too. Hanna would rather stay home and read. So would I./ I would, too.

- in the negative:

neither + inversion/ normal topic, either

e.g.: I’m not particularly fond of cherrie. Neither are my children./ My children aren’t, either. We’re not going to the zoo on Saturday. Neither are my children. /My children aren’t, either. Your parents haven’t heard the news. Neither has my wife./ My wife hasn’t, either. I didn’t make much money last year. Neither did George./ George didn’t, either. We shan’t open an account with their bank. Neither will Andrew./ Andrew won’t, either. My cousin can’t draw a straight line. Neither can Linda./ Linda can’t either. You shouldn’t speak so loud. Neither should your daughter./ Your daughter shouldn’t, either.



TAG QUESTIONS - in the affirmative: e.g.: a negative interrogation

They’re rather disappointed, aren’t they? You’ve changed your mind, haven’t you? He used to speak French with his wife, didn’t he? He’ll come home as soon as he has finished his work, won’t he? Let’s call on the Powels, shall we? Tell them to come in, will you? Let me have a look at it, will you? Ann had to prepare an essay, didn’t she? They ought to have to visit their grandparents, oughtn’t they? I’m silly, aren’t I ? You needed it badly, didn’t you? You’d rather go to bed, wouldn’t you? She’d better give up smoking, hadn’t she? We’ve got to leave it as it is, don’t we?

- in the negative: e.g.:

an affirmative interrogation

She’s not so bright, is she? It hasn’t stopped raining, has it? We’re not going into the mountains, are we? We weren’t driving too fast, were we? She didn’t do much, did she? He’ll never admit he was wrong, will he? They couldn’t come, could they? It couldn’t have been true, could it? I needn’t speak so loud, need I ? They didn’t need to fill in any form, did they? You needn’t have gone, need you? I shouldn’t asked so many questions, should I ? She shouldn’t have told him, should she?

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