Learn English – Is “Her maiden name is not either Atkins or Perkins.” correct

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I have some doubts with either, could you check with I am saying the sentence bellow correctly ?

Is the following sentence grammatically correct?

"I think you are mistaken, sir. Her maiden name is not either Atkins or Perkins. I am absolutely sure of that. "

I don't know if I can "is not either…" or if I should say: Her maiden name is not Atkins either Perkins.

Best Answer

Your alternative "Her maiden name is not Atkins either Perkins" is definitely wrong. The original is weird, and likely incorrect although I guess it might function in certain obscure contexts:

"I am completely sure her maiden name is either Atkins or Perkins."

"Unfortunately, that's entirely wrong yet again. Her maiden name is not 'either Atkins or Perkins.' It's Xian-Do, an esteemed Chinese family."

Normally, you use constructs

  • either X or y for positive choices (one of two)
  • neither X nor y for negative choices (both are wrong).

In your case the sequence should be:

Her maiden name is neither Atkins nor Perkins

You can also use 'neither' and 'either' to refer back to earlier choices:

I think her name was Atkins or Perkins, but if I were to decide, I must say either sounds likely.

I think her name was Atkins or Perkins, but if I were to decide, I must say neither sounds incorrect.

I think her name was Atkins or Perkins, but if I were to decide, I must say both sound likely.

"not either" might seem like shorthand for "neither" but "neither" is usually applied without alternatives: "neither X nor Y", period. "not either" will be usually in construct of alternative: "not (either X or Y) but Z" - and even then this construct is fairly rare.

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