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  1. Neither you nor he is right.
  2. Not either you or he is right.
  3. Either you or he is not right.
  4. Both you and he are not right.
2
  • You left out: 5. One of you is not right.
    – RobJarvis
    Jul 15, 2020 at 21:18
  • 2 is not grammatical. 3 means that one of you is right and the other is not. 1 and 4 mean that both of you are not right.
    – Isabel Archer
    Jul 18, 2020 at 18:00

1 Answer 1

2
  • Examples 1, 3, and 4 are grammatical; example 2 is not. ("Not either" = "Neither")

  • Examples 1 and 4 both mean the same thing, i.e., that both individuals are wrong (although some may argue that the two statements have differing connotations or emphases).

  • Example 3 does not mean the same thing as 1 and 4, but instead posits that only one person is wrong instead of both.

2
  • The fact that (1) and (4) mean the same thing is another example of DeMorgan's Law: Not (A Or B) is equivalent to (Not A) And (Not B). Jul 15, 2020 at 21:30
  • I am confused by the following opinion. able2know.org/topic/550219-1#post-7038813 In 1, 2, and 4 both people are wrong. But in 3, one person is wrong. RobJavis says that example 2 is not grammatical, but Hightor says 2 is correct. In this case, what shall I do as a non-native speaker? Will you make it clearer?
    – Suwon Kim
    Jul 18, 2020 at 11:07

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