How does 'both' function in the example below? Is the determiner modifying the entire noun phrase 'Jack and Jane'? I know this is correct English; however, in most examples, determiners only modify a single noun.
Both Jack and Jane got on the bus.
I think it's worth highlighting the difference between 'both' and 'the'. You could rewrite 'the fathers and mothers' as 'the fathers and the mothers', but you can't write 'both Jack and both Jane'. In my example, the 'both' only makes sense when it is used once.
Best Answer
Some consider both words in both... and conjunctions:
whereas others differentiate them:
Chambers seems to agree with the latter:
What is sure, is that both... and is not a determiner, as it does not only correlate nouns or pronouns, but also verbs, adjectives, adverbs, even prepositions:
The same site specifies the real role of both in this correlative conjunction:
That's not to say that both cannot be a determiner. If you look it up in Cambridge, you will see that it needs to be followed by plural nouns or pronouns, if it is to function as a determiner:
Also, you can see contexts where both... and both... is possible, where both is used as a determiner:
So, since both is inherently plural, it cannot determine a singular noun as in the sentence you indicated as not possible. You cannot say:
but you could probably say