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Wednesday 28 October 2015

Correlative Conjunctions


Correlative conjunctions are pairs such as either...orneither...norboth...and These conjunctions connect two balanced clauses, phrases, or words.

  • either . . . or
    We can go to either Greece or Spain for our holiday.
    It’s my final offer – you can either take it or leave it.
  • neither . . . nor
    Neither Norway nor Switzerland is in the European Union.
    Marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory. 
    (Abraham Lincoln)
  • both . . . and
    Both rugby and football are popular in France.
    Both English and Welsh are spoken in Wales.

Subject-verb agreement

Watch out! The verb which follows two subjects joined by a correlative conjunction must agree with the second subject, NOT the first:
  • Either my brother or my mum look looks after our cat when we’re away on holiday.
  • Either my brother or my parents looks look after our cat when we’re away on holiday.
  • Neither the manager nor his assistant are is here today.
  • Neither the manager nor his assistants is are here today.
Try these links for some exercises
both...and
Either...or; neither...nor
Multiple choice exercises
Exercises on the correlative conjunctions

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