64. Double Conjunctions (“either… or…” etc.)

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English has a number of conjunction pairs like “either … or …”, but lacks some of the ones found in other languages

THE MAIN DOUBLE CONJUNCTIONS IN ENGLISH

Conjunctions are one of various means by which two English verbs can be placed in the same sentence (see 30. When to Write a Full Stop). They express a meaning relation (cause, result, addition etc.) between the statements containing the linked verbs (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions). They can always be positioned between the two statements, and in many cases they can alternatively go before (see 25. Conjunction Positioning).

Most conjunctions are single words, but a surprising number comprise two or more (see 230. Multi-Word Conjunctions). Here, I wish to examine a particular kind of multi-word conjunction: where the component words are divided between two statements in the same sentence. Technically they are often called “correlatives”; I call them double conjunctions. A familiar example is either… or… :

(a) EITHER the sun is sending out more heat OR the earth is losing less.

In many cases, conjunctions like this can drop one of the verbs because it is repetitive (see 36. Words Left Out to Avoid Repetition), leaving a sentence with a list (see 54. Sentence Lists 1: Incidental):

(b) EITHER dollars (will be accepted) OR pounds will be accepted.

The main double conjunctions that can make a list like this are:

both… and… (simple list)
not only/not just… but also/but even… (simple list)
either… or… (see 266. Indicating Alternatives)
neither… nor… (list of negative meanings)
whether… or… 
as… as… (similar quality)

There are also some double conjunctions whose verbs are not usually left out, so that there is no association with listing:

if… then… (see 118. Problems with Conditional “if”)
just as… so… (see 149. Saying How Things are Similar)
so/such… that… (see 32. Expressing Consequences)
no sooner… than… (event – immediate result)
hardly/scarcely/barely… when… (event – immediate result)

An alternative to just as is as by itself with so added optionally: as… (so)… . Just as is also usable between two verbs, but without so.

The following sections discuss some problems that double conjunctions can cause, and highlight a combination that is not commonly mentioned.

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PROBLEMS OFTEN CAUSED BY DOUBLE CONJUNCTIONS

1. Combinations that are Logical but not Used in English

Some combinations have an equivalent in another language but are not normally correct in English. A common one is *although… but… . In most cases English just uses although by itself, sometimes pairing it with the connector yet or nevertheless for emphasis (see 125. Stress and Emphasis). Some languages have an equivalent of if… paired with therefore… instead of then… – again not possible in English.

It is not normal to use when with any partner word. In particular, the word then is not possible: there is an especial temptation to use it among speakers of languages with the same word for both if and when, such as Dutch (see 118. Problems with Conditional “if”). The combination where(ever)… there… is similarly rare – it was probably commoner in the past than now. Modern English again often has the first word by itself, like this:

(c) WHERE the mountains are fertile, cultivation is heavy.

If there is some repetition in the second half, there is a tendency to add also, as well or too:

(d) WHEREVER mosquitoes are found, malaria is ALSO found (…is found AS WELL/TOO).

Another unlikely combination is *since (or because)…, hence (or therefore…). Again, since or because by itself is sufficient (for the difference between them, see 61. “Since” versus “Because”).

Finally, one cannot say *or… or… . Although some other languages allow the same word just to be repeated to express the meaning of either… or… , English requires these two different words.

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2. Combinations that Cannot Begin a Sentence

Both… and… can link not just verbs but also nouns, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions. When linking two verbs, both cannot start the sentence, but is typically placed just before the first verb:

(e) Cigarettes BOTH cost a great deal AND are harmful to health.

With other kinds of link, on the other hand, both is able to start its sentence. The one where it most typically does so is that of two subject nouns:

(f) BOTH cigarettes AND cigars are harmful to health.

One other combination that behaves in the same way is neither… nor… . For more about both, see 271. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 3, #2.

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3. Combinations with Special Word Order Needs

Some of the combinations listed above – those beginning barely…, hardly…, scarcely…, no sooner…, not only… (or not just…) and so… (or such…) – sometimes need the noun and verb after their first part to be written in the special manner of direct questions, technically called “inversion”. This is where some or all of the verb goes before the noun, like this:

(g) Not only DOES cycling IMPROVE fitness, but it can even be faster than driving (not *…cycling improves…).

(h) So hard MUST athletes TRAIN that many give up.

It is placing not only… etc. at the start of the sentence that makes inversion necessary (see 307. Word Order Variations, #3). There is a free choice concerning the position of so…: either first with inversion or later without. However, the positions of not only and no sooner depend on whether or not the two linked verbs – improve and can be in (g) – are the same, and also whether or not their subjects are the same. The possibilities are:

DIFFERENT VERBS, DIFFERENT SUBJECTS
Not only and no sooner must start, followed by inversion.

DIFFERENT VERBS, SAME SUBJECTS
Both expressions may either start (with inversion) or not start (without it). Sentence (g) is of this kind: it could equally well begin Cycling not only improves….

SAME VERBS, DIFFERENT SUBJECTS
Not only must start (without inversion, e.g. Not only cycling improves fitness, but also walking); no sooner may either start (with inversion) or not start (without it).

For more about not only, see 251. The Grammar of “Only”.

Note that inversion is not possible with neither… nor…, even when neither starts the sentence. It is only neither without a following nor that necessitates inversion¹.

Another aspect of word order is involved when phrases with the same preposition are listed by means of a double conjunction. The preposition usually needs to be mentioned only once, preferably before the first part of the conjunction:

(i) Success is possible through EITHER hard work OR basic ability.

Here through is clearly understood to combine with both of the listed nouns. It could also be placed after either. The same flexibility is possessed by both, not only and neither, but it does not apply to whether. This word must go before a preposition unless the preposition is part of a “prepositional” verb like DEPEND ON (see 44. Troublesome Prepositional Verbs). Thus, in (j) we would have to say whether through, not *through whether.

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4. Variable Meanings of “whether/if … or …”

This combination – unusual in that its associated verbs cannot be the main ones in a sentence – has at least three different uses: in indirect questions, as a kind of opposite of if, and as a substitute for either … or … . For a detailed examination of these uses, see 99. Meanings of “whether … or …” .

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AN ADDITIONAL DOUBLE CONJUNCTION

One combination is not commonly mentioned in grammar books: a negative equivalent of not only… but also… . Before looking at it, there is a need to analyse exactly what not only… but also… means. Consider again sentence (e):

(e) BOTH cigarettes AND cigars are harmful to health.

This statement is equally about cigarettes and cigars, saying something about each that the reader is assumed not to know already. The presence of both also gives an early indication that a list of two items is being given (see 55. Sentence Lists 2).

However, if we replaced both… and… with not only (or not just … but also…, the sentence would be primarily about cigars. It would mean “I know you know that cigarettes are harmful, but I am telling you that cigars are too”. In other words, it would be suggesting that the part after not only was already familiar to the reader. This message is present with not just… even without but also… (see 228. Exotic Grammar Structures 5, #2). Mentioning familiar ideas is not at all unusual in language: for more examples, see 156. Mentioning What the Reader Knows Already.

The negative equivalent of both… and… is widely acknowledged to be neither… nor… . But what is the negative of of not only… but also… ? The possibility I wish to highlight is not… any more than…:

(k) Governments do NOT often cut taxes, ANY MORE THAN they help the poor.

In this list of things that governments fail to do, the one assumed to be familiar to the reader is the second one, after any more than. We cannot usually put such familiar information first. Note also that other negative words than not are possible in the first half (hardly, rarely, scarcely, never, few, no, nobody, nothing etc.). In (k), for example, we could replace do not often with rarely.

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¹Although neither combined with nor cannot be followed by inversion, nor after neither sometimes needs it: Some people NEITHER want to eat healthily NOR will they take more exercise. The subject after nor in such cases is typically a pronoun (they), and can also be left out.

63. Constraints on Using “the one(s)”

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“The one(s)” is a pronoun, but some nouns cannot be replaced by it

GENERAL USES OF “one(s)”

Most English coursebooks make it clear quite early on that the word one can be used not just with a following noun but also without one. In the first case, it is grammatically similar to adjectives, in the second a pronoun (see 263. Uses of “One” and “Ones”). Such a dual use is not unusual in English (see 28. Pronoun Errors). Other familiar words with it include that (see 234. Adjective and Pronoun Uses of “that”), each (see 169. “All” “Each” and “Every”) and enough (see 189. Expressing Sufficiency).

The pronoun use of one shows further variability. It can refer to the number 1, implying uniqueness, or “not more than one” (see 67. Numbers in Spoken English, #3), or it can mean “people in general” (see 211. General Words for People), or it can mean “an individual within a particular group”, as in these examples:

(a) Some national foods are world-famous. One is pasta.

(b) Various reasons are usually given, but one is not convincing.

(c) The best-supported team is one in the North-West. 

Here, one means respectively “one world-famous national food”, “one usual reason”, and “one team”. It conveys the idea that the single idea it represents is not the only one in existence but belongs to a particular group of similar ideas: world-famous national foods in (a), usual reasons in (b), and teams in (c). A similar meaning is present in the concept of exemplification (see 1. Simple Example-Giving). Indeed, one could be understood as exemplifying in (a), though not in the others because they fail to meet other conditions for exemplification.

The pronoun one meaning “an individual within the indicated group”, has a plural form ones:

(d) The balls were of many colours but subjects tended to choose red ones. 

Again, ones suggests that additional, unmentioned things of a similar kind exist, here balls of other colours.

It is necessary when using the plural pronoun ones to add some describing language of the same kind that nouns often have, for example an adjective in front (red ones) or a relative clause after (ones that were red). The technical name for such added description is “modification” (see 15. Half-Read Sentences).

Another noun-like feature of ones, and also of its singular one, is an occasional need for an article (the or a) before them. However, this is only possible when there is also modification – we cannot normally say *a one or *the one. To use a(n), the modification has to include an adjective before one, e.g. a red one (if modification only follows one, the meaning of a(n) is conveyed by a “zero” article). To use the, any kind of modification can accompany one or one(s), e.g. the red one(s); the one(s) in the North-West. We choose between a and the in the same way as we do with countable nouns. 

A particular problem with the one(s), occasionally leading to grammar errors, is that sometimes it should be replaced by different wording even though the meaning and grammatical context are those that it normally needs. This post explains when such replacement is necessary and what should be used instead.

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WHEN TO USE “the one(s)”

The effect of using one(s) with the is to combine the basic meaning of “not all” with a further meaning of “all”. In sentence (d), for example, the red ones would still mean not all of the balls (since ones would imply the existence of non-red balls), but it would also mean all of the red balls, and not just some of them as red ones would. Here is another example of the use with the, this time involving singular one: 

(e) Her time was the fastest one ever achieved. 

Here one still conveys the meaning of “not all”: there have been other “times achieved”. However, the says that no other fastest time exists: her time was the only fastest one.

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WHEN NOT TO USE “the one(s)”

There are three main situations where the meaning and grammatical requirements of the one(s) are present but other wording is necessary.

1. Referring to an Uncountable Noun

We cannot use one(s) or the one(s) to refer to an uncountable noun. What could be used instead of the one in the following examples (uncountable noun underlined)? 

(f) Most countries experienced economic growth, but the …. in South Africa was remarkable. 

(g) The participants had to choose between the green food and the red … . 

The problem in both of these examples could be solved by using a category noun instead of one, e.g. kind or version. Alternatively, sentence (f) could use that in place of both the and its noun growth. This is that used as a pronoun rather than a conjunction or adjective (see 234. Adjective and Pronoun Uses of “that”). It is only usable when there are modifying words after the noun it is replacing, like …in South Africa after growth in (f). This explains why that could not be used in (g), where the noun food lacks modifying words after it. Countable nouns can be replaced by that as well as uncountable ones.

In sentence (g), where the modifying word (red) comes first, a different alternative to using a category noun still exists: simply leaving that noun out altogether, so that the sentence ends … and the red. This is similar to leaving words out to avoid repetition (see 36. Words Left Out to Avoid Repetition). It is even possible when the earlier noun is countable (i.e. when you could also say the red one(s)).

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2. Formal Writing

Formal writing avoids a wide variety of grammar and vocabulary by means of other expressions with similar meaning (see 166. Appropriacy in Professional English). It commonly includes some uses of the one(s) but not others. One accepted use is with a describing word, such as red, between the and one(s); another is when one(s) stands for a person rather than a thing:

(h) Three people will be interviewed and the one who performs best will be selected.

In other cases, however, it is often considered more formal to write that/those instead of the one(s), like this:

(i) The company welcomes the comments of employees as well as those (= the ones) of customers.

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3. Comparison Sentences

The choice between that / those and the one(s) to represent a countable noun also seems less free in sentences that make a direct comparison, like these:

(j) The unemployment rate in country A is higher than that (= the one) in country B. 

(k) The abilities of human beings at birth are very undeveloped compared to those (= the ones) of most animals. 

(l) The function of the human heart is similar to that (= the one) of a pump.

It is usually better to say that / those than the one(s) in such sentences (unless you mean “the person”). Sentence (l) in particular seems strange if the one is used.

For a broader discussion of comparison language, see 82. Common Errors in Making Comparisons.