NEITHER, NOT...EITHER1, NONE2, NOT...ANY, BOTH AND ALL

   Fill in the blanks as appropriate.

1  Examples:
   Neither of them fleeced the old lady.
   He didn’t sing either of the songs
   None of these ballpoint pens work(s).
   They didn’t buy any3 of the vases.
   Both of them are swindlers.
   All of them took the pedestrian crossing.

   If we have two people or things in mind, we use neither,
   not...either or both; but if we have more than two, none,
   not...any or all. Neither, not...either and none are usually treated
   as singular words in a formal style; but as plurals, in an informal one.
   None of + a determiner + an uncountable noun is also possible: None of
   this farming land belongs to them. Compare this with the following:
     ‘Which of this farming land belongs to them?’
     ‘None (of it).’

   As regards all and not...any, we use a singular verb if they come
   before uncountable nouns; and a plural verb, before plural nouns.
   For instance, all (of) the money is singular; but all (of) the
   geraniums, plural. As for both, it always accompanies plural nouns,
   and it always takes plural verbs: Both (of) the bathing-caps are
   too big for him.

a  There were over ten boys, and __________ them were eating sunflower
   seeds. They loved them.
b  They showed me two strings of pearls, but I didn’t like __________ them.
c  They showed me five strings of pearls, but I didn’t like __________ them.
d  I have two children, and __________ them is working at present.
   They’re on the dole.
e  __________ my daughters are very clever. They always get top marks in
   everything. Her names are Fiona and Jessica. Fiona is two years older
   than Jessica.

2  Examples:
   Both of the children played truant yesterday.
   Both4 the children study hard.
   Both children passed their exams.
   Both of them are carol singers.
   All5 of the children love pineapples.
   All the children have got hepatitis.
   All children need to play.
   All of them love their mother country.

   The subjects of the three first sentences mean the same. The third one
   is the most formal of the three. In the fifth and sixth instances,
   they are synonyms, but, in the seventh, it refers to children in general,
   whereas, in the others, to a particular group of children. If both and
   all are followed by a pronoun, of is necessary, as in the fourth and
   eighth examples above.

a  There were two girls playing in the school playground. __________ them
   were in high spirits.
b  __________ women like perfumes.
c  ‘How many children have you got?’
   ‘Three boys. __________ them are very handsome.’
d  ‘__________ beggars look shabby.’
   ‘Well, I don’t think __________ them look shabby.’
e  Someone has drunk __________ the wine.

3  Examples:
   We (= he and I) both/Both of us shouted at the referee. He didn’t
   have the faintest idea of how to referee.
   I like them both/both of them. (Referring to two anoraks.)
   They all/All of them killed time reading magazines. (Three or
   more people.)
   ‘Which miniskirts do you like best?’
   ‘I like them all/all of them.’
   Both that lad and that lass were friends of his.

   It does not matter whether we say ‘we both’ or ‘both of us’,
   ‘them both’ or ‘both of them’. The same is true of all.
   Both and and may be used as correlatives, as in the last example.
   Both and all can also be pronouns:
     Both (of my two sons) love playing in the open air.
     All (of my three sons) love playing in the open air.

a  We (= my husband and I) __________ kept our noses clean, but they
   (= her husband and she) __________ got into trouble.
b  __________ us kept our noses clean, but __________ them got into trouble.
c  __________ Thomas __________ Philip never kept things back, so I
   wouldn’t tell them anything.
d  We (= all your friends) have __________ been striving hard to understand
   you all over these years, but we have found it very difficult, as you
   have never been very specific.
e  He told them