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Both, either et neither : les deux, l'un ou l'autre, aucun des deux

Fiche à imprimer : le cours, les trois exercices et le corrigé (sur une page à part). Revenir au cours en ligne

Ces trois mots servent à parler de deux personnes ou choses.

MotSensExemple
bothles deuxBoth girls are French.
eitherl'un ou l'autre (n'importe lequel des deux)You can take either bus.
neitherni l'un ni l'autre, aucun des deuxNeither answer is correct.

Avec « of » : both of, either of, neither of

Devant un déterminant (the, my, these...) ou un pronom, on ajoute of.

Both of my parents work. Neither of them speaks Spanish.
Mes deux parents travaillent. Aucun des deux ne parle espagnol.

Avec un pronom, of est obligatoire : both of us, either of them, neither of you. Avec both, on peut aussi dire we both, they both.

Both ... and, either ... or, neither ... nor

She speaks both English and German.
Elle parle à la fois anglais et allemand.
We can go either today or tomorrow.
Nous pouvons y aller soit aujourd'hui, soit demain.
Neither Tom nor Lisa came.
Ni Tom ni Lisa ne sont venus.

Attention à la négation

Neither a déjà un sens négatif : on n'ajoute pas not. Dans une phrase négative, on utilise either.

Neither of them came. = They didn't come, either of them.
Aucun des deux n'est venu.
I don't like either of these shirts.
Je n'aime aucune de ces deux chemises.

À retenir

  • Both = les deux (verbe au pluriel).
  • Either = l'un ou l'autre ; neither = aucun des deux (verbe au singulier en général).
  • Both of / either of / neither of + the, my, these... ou + pronom (us, them).
  • both ... and / either ... or / neither ... nor.
  • Pas de double négation : neither, ou not ... either.

Exercice 1 : Both, either et neither : exercice 1 (QCM)

  1. I have two brothers. ___ of them live in Paris.
    1. Neither
    2. Either
    3. Both
  2. "Tea or coffee?" — "___ . I don't mind."
    1. Both
    2. Either
    3. Neither
  3. ___ of my parents can swim. They're afraid of water.
    1. Both
    2. Either
    3. Neither
  4. She can play ___ the piano and the guitar.
    1. both
    2. neither
    3. either
  5. You can come ___ on Monday or on Tuesday.
    1. either
    2. neither
    3. both
  6. ___ Ted nor Betty was at the party.
    1. Neither
    2. Either
    3. Both
  7. I don't like ___ of these films.
    1. neither
    2. both
    3. either
  8. « Nous sommes tous les deux fatigués. »
    1. Both we are tired.
    2. We are both tired.
    3. We both are tired of.
  9. « Aucune des deux réponses n'est juste. »
    1. Neither answer is right.
    2. Neither answer isn't right.
    3. Either answer is right.
  10. Quelle phrase est correcte ?
    1. Both them of are here.
    2. Both of them are here.
    3. Both of they are here.

Exercice 2 : Both, either et neither : exercice 2 (à compléter)

  1. .......................... my sisters have blue eyes. (les deux)
  2. I can't decide. .......................... dresses are beautiful! (les deux)
  3. You can pay .......................... by card or in cash. (soit)
  4. .......................... Paul nor his brother likes football. (ni)
  5. She speaks .......................... French and Italian. (à la fois)
  6. I didn't see .......................... of them at school today. (aucun des deux, phrase négative)
  7. .......................... of my friends was at home. (aucun des deux)
  8. We can watch .......................... film. I like them both. (l'un ou l'autre)
  9. The two hotels were full, so we could stay at .......................... of them. (aucun des deux)
  10. They .......................... passed the exam. (tous les deux)

Corrigé

Exercice 1

1. c) Both · 2. b) Either · 3. c) Neither · 4. a) both · 5. a) either · 6. a) Neither · 7. c) either · 8. b) We are both tired. · 9. a) Neither answer is right. · 10. b) Both of them are here.

Exercice 2

1. Both · 2. Both · 3. either · 4. Neither · 5. both · 6. either · 7. Neither · 8. either · 9. neither · 10. both