both

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1.
general.
Both, when modifying a single item, refers to two things or persons (both houses / both women); when, as both...and..., it couples two items, each of these may be singular (both the woman and the man) or plural (both the women and the men), although care must be taken to avoid misunderstanding if the first item is plural, as in the example just given.

2.
position.
Both is a mobile word and can be linked to particular pairs of sentence elements: They work both by day and by night / He both loves and hates his brother / The work is both rewarding and enjoyable / I hope to be both a writer and a musician. When there are more than two items involved, the word both should be omitted: I want to be a writer, a musician, and a painter.

3.
as pronoun.
Both can also function as a pronoun, optionally followed by of: I will try to see both / I will try to see both of the candidates / I will try to see both of you; when used with a personal pronoun both must follow it: I will try to see you both / You both look worried.

4.
awkward constructions.
Because both is so flexible in use, its intended meaning can be unclear in some uses:

• We both won a prize can mean either (1) 'we both won one prize between us', or (2) 'we won a prize each'. It is better to use each or to rephrase with a word such as joint, as appropriate: We each won a prize / We won a joint prize.
• You will see a tree at both ends of the road is not so much ambiguous as counter-intuitive, since the tree can only be in one place. Rephrase as You will see a tree [or trees] at each end of the road.
• Books are useful both for pleasure as well as for learning is a sequence to be avoided: both should always be paired with and: Books are useful both for pleasure and for learning. Note also the repetition of for: see the next item.
• Her speech was both detrimental to understanding and to peace needs to be rephrased so that the two elements governed by both match each other: Her speech was detrimental to both understanding and peace or Her speech was detrimental both to understanding and to peace; compare Her speech was both detrimental to understanding and damaging to peace. This applies espe-cially to use of the definite or indefinite article: Both the man and woman should be corrected to Both the man and the woman.
• He was acting on both our behalfs is better expressed as He was acting on behalf of us both.
• We find them both equally responsible is a common construction in speech, but both is strictly redundant, and should be omitted in more formal writing: We find them equally responsible.

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Idioms beginning with both:
both barrels, with

See also best of both worlds; burn the candle at both ends; cut both ways; foot in both camps; have it both ways; play both ends against the middle; work both sides of the street.

IN BRIEF: Two considered together.

If you chase two rabbits, both will escape. — Unknown from www.zaadz.com.

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sign description: The two handshape is pulled through the other hand C hand. As the hand moves down, the fingers come together.

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For a list of words related to both, see:

• Conjunctions

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See words rhyming with "both."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Both.

Dansk (Danish)
det. - begge
pron. - begge, begge to
adv. - både
adj. - begge
conj. - både

idioms:

• both ... and ...    både ... og ...
• have it both ways    både blæse og have mel i munden

Nederlands (Dutch)
beide(n)

Français (French)
pred. - les deux, tous/toutes les deux
det. - les deux, tous/toutes les deux
pron. - tous les deux, toutes les deux, l'un(e) et l'autre, nous, l'un comme l'autre
adv. - à la fois, nous, tous les deux, et, non seulement, aussi bien
adj. - les deux, des deux, l'un et l'autre, de part et d'autre
conj. - les deux, comme, à la fois, aussi bien...que

idioms:

• both ... and ...    à la fois...et, en même temps...et, non seulement... mais aussi ...
• have it both ways    avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre, il faut choisir (excl)

Deutsch (German)
pred. - beide
det. - beide
pron. - beide
adv. - sowohl ... als, nicht nur ... sondern auch
adj. - beide
conj. - beide

idioms:

• both ... and ...    sowohl .. als auch
• have it both ways    beides haben

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αμφότεροι, και οι δύο
pron. - αμφότεροι, και οι δύο
conj. - και, όχι μόνο

idioms:

• both ... and ...    τόσο ο... όσο και ο, και... και, όχι μόνο... αλλά και
• have it both ways    συμβιβάζω τα ασυμβίβαστα

Italiano (Italian)
entrambi

idioms:

• both .. and    sia .. sia, tanto .. quanto

Português (Portuguese)
adj., -
pron. - ambos
conj. - não só, bem como

idioms:

• both ... and ...    tanto... quanto

Русский (Russian)
оба

idioms:

• both ... and ...    и ... и ...

Español (Spanish)
pred. - ambos
det. - los dos
pron. - el uno y el otro
adv. - ambos
adj. - ambos
conj. - al mismo tiempo, a la vez, tanto... como

idioms:

• both ... and ...    tanto .. como, lo mismo .. que
• have it both ways    usar ambas alternativas, querer todo, estar en la misa y repicando

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - båda, bägge
pron. - båda, bägge
conj. - både...och

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
两者的, 双方的, 两者, 双方, 两个, 两者都, 既...且..., ...和...都

idioms:

• both ... and ...    既...又..., ...和...都
• have it both ways    脚踏两条船

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
pred. - 兩者的, 雙方的
det. - 兩者的, 雙方的
pron. - 兩者, 雙方, 兩個
adv. - 兩者都
adj. - 兩者的, 雙方的
conj. - 既...且..., ...和...都

idioms:

• both ... and ...    既...又..., ...和...都
• have it both ways    腳踏兩條船

한국어 (Korean)
pred. - 둘 다
det. - 양쪽의
pron. - 양쪽
adv. - 둘 다
adj. - 양쪽의
conj. - ~도~도

idioms:

• have it both ways    두 가지 논법을 쓰다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 両方の
pron. - 両方

idioms:

• both ... and ...    ～も～も
• both feet on the ground    足をしっかり地面に付けている
• have it both ways    両てんびんにかける

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) الاثنان, كلا, كلتا (ضمير) كلا (حرف عطف) كلانا, أنا و أنت‏

עברית (Hebrew)
det. - ‮שניהם, שני ה-‬
pron. - ‮שניהם, שני ה-‬
adv. - ‮גם... וגם‬
adj. - ‮שניהם, שני ה-‬
conj. - ‮שניהם, שני ה-‬

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