Correlative Conjunctions
Conversation 1
Man: Is Bob coming to the party?
Woman: Yes, both he and his wife are coming.
Man: What about Joe and his wife?
Woman: Neither Joe nor his wife can make it.
Man: Oh, that’s too bad.
Woman: Yeah, it is rare when all of us are together.
Conversation 2
Woman: What can I use to make a website?
Man: I would use either Blogger or Wordpress.
Woman: Which one is better?
Man: It depends whether you are making a simple site or a complex site.
Woman: I am making a simple site.
Man: Then I would use Blogger.
Conversation 3
Man: Do you know whether Jack or Sally will give the next presentation?
Woman: It will be Sally I think.
Man: Why not Jack, or Jim for that matter?
Woman: Both Jack and Jim are not as experienced as Sally.
Man: True, they are both newbies.
Woman: Yeah, they will be ready to do it soon though.
Conversation 4
Man: I hear both Jill and Sue will quit soon.
Woman: What will they do?
Man: I am not sure. I think they will either get a new job or go back to school.
Woman: I am really going to miss Jill.
Man: Yeah, neither the office nor the company outings will be the same without her.
Woman: So true!
Correlative Conjunctions
- Neither Tom nor Sally know how to drive. (neither/nor is the correlative conjunction)
- I spoke to both my friends and family to get their advice.
- I would like to eat either the salad or the soup.
- I can’t decide whether to quit my job or continue working.
- The lady was both kind and friendly.
(kind and friendly are adjectives) - Whether I liked it or not, I had to finish my assignment on time.
(‘I liked it’ and ‘not’ are both verb phrases) - It was neither the rice nor the noodles that smelled so good.
(‘the rice’ and ‘the noodles’ are both nouns) - I was either going to sleep early or stay up late.
(‘going to sleep early’ or ‘stay up late’ are both verb phrases)
- The boy was neither quiet nor happy.
- I was neither going to speak to them nor write to them.
- Neither the coach nor the players were happy with the game.
- It was neither polite nor practical to decline his offer to help.
- Both the teacher and the students enjoyed the lesson.
- Santa Claus gave the children both sweets and presents.
- The professor was both happy and proud of the recent graduates.
- We are both short of time and money.
- If I had to go on holiday, I would choose either the beach or the mountains.
- You can ask either the professor or the TA to help you.
- I would like either apple juice or orange juice, whichever is available.
- We can either drive or take the subway to the concert.
- I neither wanted to eat // nor drink.
- The children were both tired // and hungry.
- If I were you, I would either call in sick // or work from home.
- Whether you are a beginner // or an expert, this is the best place to learn dance.
