either

(ē'THər, ī'THər)
pron.
The one or the other: Which movie do you want to see? Either will be fine.

conj.
Used before the first of two or more coordinates or clauses linked by or: Either we go now or we remain here forever.

adj.

1. Any one of two; one or the other: Wear either coat.
2. One and the other; each: rings on either hand.

adv.
Likewise; also. Used as an intensive following negative statements: If you don't order a dessert, I won't either.

[Middle English, from Old English ǣther, ǣghwæther.]

USAGE NOTE   The traditional rule holds that either should be used only to refer to one of two items and that any is required when more than two items are involved: Any (not either) of the three opposition candidates still in the race would make a better president than the incumbent. But reputable writers have often violated this rule, and in any case it applies only to the use of either as a pronoun or an adjective. When either is used as a conjunction, no paraphrase with any is available, and so either is unexceptionable even when it applies to more than two clauses: Either the union will make a counteroffer or the original bid will be refused by the board or the deal will go ahead as scheduled. • In either ... or constructions, the two conjunctions should be followed by parallel elements. The following is regarded as incorrect: You may either have the ring or the bracelet (properly, You may have either the ring or the bracelet). The following is also incorrect: She can take either the examination offered to all applicants or ask for a personal interview (properly, She can either take ... ). • When used as a pronoun, either is singular and takes a singular verb: The two left-wing parties disagree with each other more than either does (not do) with the Right. When followed by of and a plural noun, either is often used with a plural verb: Either of the parties have enough support to form a government. But this usage is widely regarded as incorrect; in an earlier survey it was rejected by 92 percent of the Usage Panel. • When all the elements in an either ... or construction (or a neither ... nor construction) used as the subject of a sentence are singular, the verb is singular: Either Eve or Herb has been invited. Analogously, when all the elements in the either ... or construction are plural, the verb is plural too: Either the Clarks or the Kays have been invited. When the construction mixes singular and plural elements, however, there is some confusion as to which form the verb should take. It has sometimes been suggested that the verb should agree with whichever noun phrase is closest to it; thus one would write Either Eve or the Kays have been invited, but Either the Kays or Eve has been invited. This pattern is accepted by 54 percent of the Usage Panel. Others have maintained that the construction is fundamentally inconsistent whichever number is assigned to the verb and that such sentences should be rewritten accordingly. See Usage Notes at every, neither, or¹, they.

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1.
pronunciation.
The pronunciations iy-dhǝ and ee-dhǝ are about equally common.

2.
parts of speech.
Either functions in two ways: as an adjective or pronoun, and as an adverb or conjunction. In all these uses, it means essentially 'one or other of two'; when more than two alternatives are involved an alternative word (such as any) or construction is often needed, at least in more formal contexts. (This aspect is discussed further in section 3 below.)

• adjective and pronoun. Either means 'one or the other of two' (Either book will serve the purpose / Either of you can go) or 'each of two' (We sat down on either side of the table).
• adverb and conjunction. The basic meaning is 'as one possibility or alternative', and is normally balanced by or (You may have either tea or coffee / Either come in or go out, but don't just stand there). The position of either and or should be such that the grammatical structures are correctly balanced, as in Either I will go with John or I will stay here with you but not in ☒ Either I will go with John or stay here with you. It is also used with a negative, normally at the end of a clause or sentence (She didn't want to come, either / There is no time to lose either).

3.
either with more than two.
The essential duality of either is shown by the following example:

We either rely on our children to translate for us or we can try to catch up—Illustrated London News, 1980.

If the number of alternatives is extended to more than two, opinion is divided about the elegance and even the acceptability of the results; in general a greater tolerance is necessary in conversational English, but in formal English it is advisable to restrict either to contexts in which there are only two possibilities. In the case of the adjective and pronoun use, either should be replaced by any when a choice from more than two is involved (Any of the books will serve the purpose). It should be noted, however, that any can mean one or more than one, and so any one should be used when this is the meaning (Answer any one of the following three questions).

4.
singular or plural after either.
Normally either governs a singular verb (Has either of you seen my pen? / Either John or Peter has got it), but with the type either of (+ plural) a plural construction is sometimes used to emphasize the plurality of the statement as a whole, especially in inverted questions when the verb comes first

(Have either of you two ladies received an anonymous letter?—A. E. W. Mason, 1924).

Notional and grammatical agreement are in conflict in informal uses such as Either John or Jane avert their eyes when I try to take their photograph. When one of the alternatives is singular and the other plural, normal usage is to make the verb agree with the one closer to it (Either the twins or their mother is responsible for this). See also neither.

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IN BRIEF: The one and the other of two.

You're either part of the solution or part of the problem. — Eldridge Cleaver, (1935-1998), U.S. writer, activist, 1960's Black Panther leader, turned his focus to religion in 1970's.

Tutor's tip: The doctor told her patient she could have either (one of two) no anesthetic or ether (a chemical) .

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For a list of words related to either, see:

• Conjunctions
• Reflections and References
• Comparisons
• Emphasizers

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See words rhyming with "either."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Either.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
conj. - enten, hverken
adv. - heller, desuden, for øvrigt
det. - begge, enten den ene eller den anden, hver sin, både den ene og den anden
pron. - den ene eller den anden, hver, begge, nogen
adj. - enten, hver, en ellle anden, enhver

Nederlands (Dutch)
of, ofwel, één van beide, ook (niet)

Français (French)
conj. - ni ... ni, soit ... soit, ou (bien) ... ou (bien), d'ailleurs
adv. - non plus
det. - n'importe lequel/laquelle, les deux, des deux, de part et d'autre, ni ... ni
pron. - l'un(e) ou l'autre, n'importe lequel (ou laquelle) (des deux), ni l'un ni l'autre, soit à l'un soit à l'autre
adj. - l'un(e) ou l'autre, n'importe lequel (laquelle) des deux

Deutsch (German)
conj. - entweder, weder
adv. - auch nicht, noch
det. - beide, einer, eine, eines von beiden
pron. - irgendein(er, e, es)
adj. - jed(er, e, es), beide

Ελληνική (Greek)
conj. - είτε, (σε άρνηση) ούτε, ή ο ένας ή ο άλλος

Italiano (Italian)
o, sia

Português (Portuguese)
conj. - ou...ou
adv. - tampouco
pron. - um ou outro

Русский (Russian)
один из двух, тот или другой

Español (Spanish)
conj. - o, u, o bien
adv. - tampoco, también
det. - o, u, o bien, los dos, ambos, el uno y el otro
pron. - uno u otro, cualquiera de los dos
adj. - uno u orto, cualquiera de los dos

Svenska (Swedish)
conj. - endera, vardera, vilkendera, båda

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
或者, 也, 而且, 根本, 任一, 两方的, 任何一个

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
conj. - 或者, 也
adv. - 也, 而且, 根本
det. - 任一, 兩方的
pron. - 任何一個
adj. - 任一, 兩方的

한국어 (Korean)
conj. - ~이든 ~이든
adv. - ~도 또한 ~않다, ~이라고는 해도
det. - 둘 중 하나의
pron. - 어느 쪽이나, 어느편도, 어느편이건
adj. - 어느 한 쪽의, 어느편의, 양쪽의

日本語 (Japanese)
adv. - …もまた, それに
adj. - どちらか一方の, どちらの…も, 両方の
pron. - いずれか一方, どちらも, どちらか

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(حرف عطف) أيضا, إما‏

עברית (Hebrew)
conj. - ‮זה או זה, זה וגם זה, גם כן, גם כן לא‬
adv. - ‮יתר על כן, נוסף לכך‬
det. - ‮אחד משניהם, זה או זה, זה וגם זה‬
pron. - ‮אחד משניהם, זה או זה‬
adj. - ‮קשור לבחירה כזו‬

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