Re: "either"

[MONETTE DENISE P 678-3843 MACA <dmonette -at- ARL -dot- MIL>]

Maybe I am off the mark, but can't the word "either" be deleted
entirely?  The "or" signifies that there is a choice.  (It seems that
there are enough answers as to where to put the "either;" I thought an
alternative would be interesting.)

* Denise Monette        Technical Writer/Editor   dmonette -at- arl -dot- army -dot- mil*
***             Find yourself.  Play hide and seek alone.            ***

On Thu, 19 Jan 1995, Susan W. Gallagher wrote:

> Ray asks,
> >
> > The following sentence has caused some debate among my fellow writers:
> >
> > "Entries either are alphanumeric strings, such as usernames or passwords; or
 a
>  c
> > hoice between several preset strings, such as enabled or disabled."
> >
> > The debate stems from the placement of the word "either." I believe that the
>  sen
> > tence reads better as follows:
> >
> > "Entries are either alphanumeric strings...."
> >
> Well, Ray, I agree with you. The sentence reads better with the
> either after the verb. The only time I would put the either before
> the verb is if the verb were part of the variable information.

> Entries either are... or are not...
> Entries are either black or white

> Always seemed to me the either introduced a choice and if the
> verb wasn't part of the choice it wasn't part of the either, either!

> Sue Gallagher
> StarBase Corp, Irvine CA
> sgallagher -at- starbasecorp -dot- com