Matching body parts - Miscellaneous matters

Booher's Rules of Business Grammar - Dianna Booher 2009

Matching body parts
Miscellaneous matters

CORRELATIVE LINKS

Like pie and ice cream, July 4th and parades, or the Super Bowl and parties, some words are always paired together: either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also, if/whether. When you use them together in the same sentence, make sure you link them properly.

Consider these pairs like handcuffs linking similar items together. Handcuffs link two equal hands. Likewise, you have to slap the “handcuffs” in front of two equivalent parts of a sentence: two nouns, two describing words (adjectives), two verbs, two clauses, and so forth. To do otherwise would be like handcuffing someone’s left wrist to the right knee—more than a little awkward.

Incorrect:

We can either buy the house or the yacht with the inheritance.

Correct:

We can buy either the house or the yacht with the inheritance.

Incorrect:

Neither owns a Lexus nor a BMW.

Correct:

They own neither a Lexus nor a BMW.

Incorrect:

Not only is she intelligent, she’s well liked.

Correct:

Not only is she intelligent, but also she’s well liked.

Memory tip

Visualize these links as handcuffs around matching “body parts” of the sentence skeleton.