Either … or…

Either… or… connects two choices:

I’ve saved some money to buy either[choice 1]a DVD playeror[choice 2]an MP3 player.

We use either… or… to connect items which are the same grammatical type, e.g. words, phrases, clauses:

We can either pre- or post-date the document. I don’t mind. (connecting prefixes)

It’s either black or grey. I can’t remember. (connecting words)

You can stay either with me or with Janet. (connecting phrases)

Either I drive to the airport or I get a taxi. (connecting clauses)

The opposite of either… or… is neither… nor…. We use it to make negative statements connecting items:

We got so wet. We had neither umbrellas nor raincoats with us!

Neither our families nor our friends know that we are getting married!