All, both, either and neither

## Level and focus

**Level:** B1  
**Category:** Determiners

Use all, both, either and neither to talk about whole groups and two alternatives.

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to: **Choose all, both, either or neither according to number, meaning and polarity.**

## Core idea

This lesson adds a recommended grammar point that improves the coverage of the curriculum without changing the overall CEFR progression. Learners should first recognise the pattern, then practise controlled examples, and only later combine it with adjacent grammar.

## Form

- `all for three or more`

• both for two positive alternatives

• either for one of two or negative sentences

• neither for not one and not the other

  Meaning and use

  Use this grammar when the speaker needs the meaning described in the lesson goal. The examples should stay close to the level and should not rely on advanced vocabulary or several new grammar points at once.

  Examples

  • All the students passed.

• Both answers are possible.

• You can choose either option.

• Neither restaurant was open.

  Common mistakes

  • Using both for more than two: not both of the five students; use all five students.

• Using neither with a negative verb: not Neither answer is not correct; use Neither answer is correct.

• Confusing either and neither: not Neither option is fine when both are acceptable; use Either option is fine.

  Teaching sequence

  1. Start with a clear contrast between two forms or meanings.
  2. Give short controlled examples with familiar vocabulary.
  3. Include one item that targets a common mistake.
  4. Add mixed review items that distinguish this point from a neighbouring lesson.
  5. End with simple sentence-level production or recognition.

  Boundary: what not to cover here

  Do not include advanced determiner reference or quantifier nuance beyond frequent B1 contexts.

  Suggested practice

  For the current exercise system, use 25 multiple-choice exercises. Include clear distractors that test the target grammar, not obscure vocabulary. Later, this lesson can be expanded with gap-fill, error-correction or transformation tasks.

Quick check

Before you move on, can you explain the rule in one sentence and make one example of your own?