either

[hanuman_2000]

Sir,

The "Either" as a adjective takes "singular countanle noun" i.e

Either road is long.

Either roads are long.(It is wrong.)

But,when we use either ... or like .....

Either the students or the teachers are reading the books.

Why "the students" ,which is plural form of "student" after Either.

Please help me.

Thanks.

[Alan]

In Either road is long, 'either' functions as a determinative adjective which may relate only to a singular noun. In your later example, it functions simply as an adverbial correlative of 'or' emphasizing the existence of a choice between two alternative predications (1 - the students are reading; 2 - the teachers are reading), and the restriction on number accordingly does not apply.