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A calendar made of posts? Both… and, either… or, neither… nor for comparing theories

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches either… or and neither… nor, with both… and, through Woodhenge, the post circles at Cahokia Mounds in Illinois.

Grammar
Both… and when the two are true, either… or for one of the two (It was either a calendar or a star map.) and neither… nor for not one and not the other, with a positive verb.
Topic
Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, near St. Louis, and its Woodhenge post circles, with words such as archaeologist, theory, mound and prove.
Activities
Riley's fact-checked feature, Jade's visit with a volunteer guide and a listener's question, self-checking drills, a chat comparing theories and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: Mystery Mode On

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: mysteries of the pastVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: Woodhenge, fact-checked

    • Look at the photo: Woodhenge at sunrisePictureUnlock
    • Read Riley's feature about WoodhengeArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: sunrise theories

    • Listen to Jade and Byron at WoodhengeListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Listener's TakeListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: either a calendar or a star map

    • Study the scheme: both, either and neitherGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: join the two ideas with a pairFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: what we know, think and don't knowFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is right?QuizUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: calendar, star map or both?

    • Choose the right replies: compare the theoriesChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: compare the theoriesOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: a word and an exampleMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: one pair for two ideasFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Sort the sentences into the correct columns: right or wrongSort into columnsUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: a museum labelDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Jade answers ZeldaChoose the optionUnlock

32 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • archaeologist
  • ancient
  • theory
  • mound
  • post
  • cedar
  • horizon
  • estimate
  • floodplain

Grammar: both… and, either… or, neither… nor

These three pairs join two ideas and say how many of them are true: both, one of the two, or neither. With the theories about Cahokia's Woodhenge, learners keep each pair together (both with and, either with or, neither with nor), match the words after each part and keep neither… nor with a positive verb.

both… and · either… or · neither… nor

Pairs for two ideas: the two are true, one of them is true, or neither of them is true.

Three pairs, three meanings

Both… and says the two are true: Three posts mark both the solstices and the equinox. Either… or says one of the two is: It was either a calendar or a star map. Neither… nor rules out both: The builders left neither a plan nor a name.

Three pairs

PairIt meansExample
both … and✓ + ✓: the two are trueThree posts mark both the solstices and the equinox.
either … or✓ or ✓: one of the two (maybe we don't know which)It was either a calendar or a star map.
neither … nor✗ + ✗: not one and not the otherThe builders left neither a plan nor a name.

At Woodhenge

  • Was it either a calendar or a star map? Or maybe both?
  • Both Woodhenge and Monks Mound are part of Cahokia Mounds.
  • The posts were neither stone nor metal: they were red cedar.
  • Some experts think the extra posts tracked either the moon or the stars.
  • We know neither the city's real name nor why people left.
  • Jade wants both a great theory and a good story.

The same kind of word after each part

After each half comes the same kind of word: two nouns (Both Jade and Byron love sunrises.), two adjectives (neither easy nor clear), two verbs or two phrases. No of after both here: It was both a calendar and a map, not both of a calendar.

The same kind of word after each part

Two…Example
nounsBoth Jade and Byron love sunrises.
adjectivesThe answer is neither easy nor clear.
verbsTonight we can either watch a movie or play a game.
phrasesZelda went both with her class and with her family.

No “of” in both… and

Put the two things straight after both and and: It was both a calendar and a map. Not: It was both of a calendar and a map.

Neither… nor is already negative

Neither… nor already carries the “not,” so the verb stays positive: It was neither a calendar nor a map. It wasn't neither… is a double negative. With a negative verb, use or instead: It wasn't a calendar or a map.

neither… nor is already negative

Neither… nor already means “not”, so the verb is positive: It was neither a calendar nor a map. Not: It wasn't neither a calendar nor a map. With a negative verb, use or: It wasn't a calendar or a map.

Which verb, and Neither do I

Both… and takes a plural verb: Both Jade and Byron are here. After either… or and neither… nor, the nearer noun decides: Neither Jade nor her friends are archaeologists. The short answer Neither do I is a different thing: it joins no two ideas.

Which verb comes after the pair?

After both… and, the verb is plural: Both Jade and Byron are here. After either… or and neither… nor, the verb agrees with the nearer noun: Neither Jade nor her friends are archaeologists. Either the guides or Byron is right.

Neither do I is different

Neither do I (= me neither) is a short answer after a negative sentence: “I don't like snakes.” “Neither do I.” It has no nor and joins no two ideas.

Common mistakes

  • It was both a calendar or a map.

    It was both a calendar and a map.

    both … and

  • It was either a calendar nor a map.

    It was either a calendar or a map.

    either … or

  • Neither Riley or Darius went to Illinois.

    Neither Riley nor Darius went to Illinois.

    neither … nor

  • It wasn't neither a calendar nor a map.

    It was neither a calendar nor a map.

    neither is already negative

More lessons on this grammar: Linking words lessons and exercises

Try the either or, neither nor exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

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What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 6 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say that two things are true with both… and: Three posts mark both the solstices and the equinox. Both Jade and Byron love sunrises.
  • give two possible answers with either… or: It was either a calendar or a star map. We can either watch the sunrise or sleep late.
  • rule out two things with neither… nor and a positive verb: The builders left neither a plan nor a name, not didn't leave neither
  • compare theories by keeping facts, expert ideas and unknowns apart: We know neither the city's real name nor why people left it.

Lesson 29 opens Mysteries and lost worlds, unit 8 of English B1.1 · Stories That Travel. It builds on the and, but and or of A1.2 lesson 31 and on A2.2 lesson 16, where Neither do I answered a negative sentence. Lesson 30 moves on to uncountable nouns such as evidence and information. A site where experts know some things, think others and can't explain the rest is ideal for weighing two ideas at once.

Students spin a wheel of questions about mysteries, old places and sunrises, then learn twelve words, from prove and mark to cedar and floodplain, with pictures and audio. They read Riley's feature, which keeps what we know, what experts think and what nobody knows apart, then hear Jade at Woodhenge with Byron, a volunteer guide, and Zelda, a 23-year-old listener from Illinois, ask which theory Jade believes, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, among them a table of what we know, think and don't know. In the speaking chapter, the student compares theories with Mallory, a friend, in a chat, then opens boxes about theories, plans and places.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a gap-fill and a memory game for the words, then a choice of pairs, gaps that join two sentences into one, word order, right and wrong sentences to sort, a museum label at Woodhenge and Jade's answer to Zelda.

Grammar:
both… and · either… or · neither… nor · comparing theories
Topic:
Cahokia Mounds · Woodhenge · Illinois · archaeology · mysteries · sunrises · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Sort the facts into three columns before the grammar: what we know, what experts think and what nobody knows. Students then join two items from one column with the matching pair, as the lesson's table does.
  • Run a theory vote after the listening: calendar, star map or both? Each group defends its choice with one either… or sentence and one neither… nor sentence about what nobody can prove.
  • Catch the double negative early: write It wasn't neither a calendar nor a map on the board and ask students to fix it two ways, with was neither… nor and with wasn't… or.
  • Use Zelda's sunrise as a hook: she saw the sun come up right over one of the posts. Ask who would get up at five a.m. for that, and have students answer with either… or plans.

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The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, each built around a true story. Riley, Jade and Darius make a podcast in Kansas City about true American stories, and each lesson tells one, from a seaplane airport in Alaska to the Marfa Lights of West Texas. Learners compare the present perfect with the past simple, use future forms, modals and quantifiers, and give their own opinions. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Travel smart

    the present perfect vs the past simple, for and since, indirect questions, be used to and get used to

    1. Lesson 1Would you visit an airport just for fun?Present perfect vs past simple
    2. Lesson 2Would you sleep in a 300-year-old inn?For and since with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 3My suitcase has gone to Honolulu!Indirect questions for polite requests
    4. Lesson 4Can you practice a flight?Be used to and get used to

  2. Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs

    will have to and won't be allowed to, the present perfect continuous, simple vs continuous, would vs used to

    1. Lesson 5Would you jump off a moving boat for a job?Will have to, will be able to and will be allowed to
    2. Lesson 6Working from anywherePresent perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 7Could you be a camp counselor?Present perfect simple vs continuous
    4. Lesson 8Would you live in a lighthouse?Would vs used to for the past

  3. Unit 3 Space and discovery

    it's + adjective + to, What's it like to…?, future forms compared, future time clauses, too and enough + to

    1. Lesson 9What's it like to work in space?It's + adjective + to and What's it like to…?
    2. Lesson 10Who will walk on the Moon next?Future forms compared by meaning
    3. Lesson 11A message for the starsFuture time clauses
    4. Lesson 12A helicopter on Mars?Too and enough + to-infinitive

  4. Unit 4 Life online

    the more…, the more…, be supposed to, ought to and had better, let, make and allow

    1. Lesson 13The internet's first word was “LO”Comparative and comparative; the more…, the more…
    2. Lesson 14Who sent the first spam?Be supposed to for rules, expectations and plans
    3. Lesson 15Is your password really safe?Ought to and had better for advice and warnings
    4. Lesson 16Who writes Wikipedia?Let, make and allow + someone

  5. Unit 5 Screen and page

    -ed and -ing adjectives, gradable and extreme adjectives, present tenses for a plot, articles for things in general

    1. Lesson 17Why do readers still love Nancy Drew?-ed and -ing adjectives for feelings
    2. Lesson 18Movie night in your carGradable and extreme adjectives
    3. Lesson 19Would you review a book on TV?Present tenses to tell a plot
    4. Lesson 20Where are the books about girls like me?Articles for things in general and specific things

  6. Unit 6 Green living

    few and a few, little and a little, all, most, some and none, each and every, fewer and less

    1. Lesson 21A year's trash in one jar?Few, a few, little and a little
    2. Lesson 22No food in the trash!All, most, some and none (of)
    3. Lesson 23A farm in the middle of DetroitEach and every
    4. Lesson 24A trash collector with googly eyesFewer and less

  7. Unit 7 Sporting moments

    could, was able to and managed to, for, during and while, present tenses for live commentary, question tags

    1. Lesson 25From a leg brace to three goldsCould, was able to and managed to
    2. Lesson 26A doctor and an Olympic champion?For, during and while
    3. Lesson 27Who's that runner coming from behind?Present simple and continuous for live commentary
    4. Lesson 28Why do high jumpers go backward?Question tags

  8. Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds

    both… and, either… or and neither… nor, uncountable nouns, how sure we are about the future, unless, as long as and in case

    1. Lesson 29 · you're hereA calendar made of posts?Both… and, either… or, neither… nor
    2. Lesson 30What was the Great House for?Uncountable abstract nouns
    3. Lesson 31What does Newspaper Rock say?Certainty about the future
    4. Lesson 32What are the Marfa Lights?Unless, as long as and in case

Questions about this lesson

How do you use either… or and neither… nor?
Use either… or for one of two choices and neither… nor when neither is true: It was either a calendar or a star map. The builders left neither a plan nor a name. Put the same kind of word after each part, such as two nouns or two verbs: We can either watch the sunrise or sleep late. The B1 lesson A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai teaches both pairs, with both… and, through Cahokia's Woodhenge.
Is it "neither… or" or "neither… nor"?
It's neither… nor, just as it's either… or: each word keeps its own partner. Say Neither Riley nor Darius went to Illinois, not Neither Riley or Darius, and either a calendar or a map, not either a calendar nor a map. The third pair is both… and, never both… or. A quiz and a right-or-wrong sort in A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai set all three traps.
Can you say "It wasn't neither a calendar nor a map"?
No: neither… nor is already negative, so the verb stays positive: It was neither a calendar nor a map. Adding wasn't makes a double negative. For a negative verb, use or instead: It wasn't a calendar or a map. The same goes for I have neither a pen nor a pencil, not I don't have neither, a trap in the homework of A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai.
Is the verb singular or plural after neither… nor?
It agrees with the noun nearer to it: Neither Jade nor her friends are archaeologists, but Either the guides or Byron is right. With two singular nouns, the verb is singular: Neither my cat nor my dog likes baths. After both… and, the verb is plural: Both Jade and Byron are here. A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai gives this rule as a tip in its scheme.
Is it "both a calendar and a map" or "both of a calendar and a map"?
It's both a calendar and a map, with no of: the two things go straight after both and and. Both of works before a pronoun, as in both of them, but not inside a both… and pair. The chat in A calendar made of posts?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, offers both of a calendar and a star map as a wrong reply.
What is Cahokia Mounds?
Cahokia Mounds is the site of a Native American city in Collinsville, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. It keeps part of the largest prehistoric Native American city north of Mexico, home to an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people around 1100. The city had about 120 earthen mounds, and 70 are still there; the biggest, Monks Mound, is about 100 feet tall. A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai is set there.
What is Woodhenge at Cahokia?
Woodhenge is the modern nickname for circles of tall red cedar posts that once stood at Cahokia. In the early 1960s, archaeologists found the post holes before a highway was built, and as many as five circles stood there between about 900 and 1100. From the center of the third circle, three posts mark the sunrise on the solstices and the equinox, so many experts think it was a sun calendar. Nobody can prove it.
How do I teach both… and, either… or and neither… nor to B1 students?
Give students one mystery with three kinds of statements: facts, theories and unknowns. The lesson's table pairs what we know with both… and, what experts think with either… or and what nobody knows with neither… nor, so the meaning of each pair is clear. A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai moves from Riley's fact-checked feature and Jade's visit to the scheme and five drills.
What's a good game for practicing either… or and neither… nor?
Play “both, either or neither?” with two pictures: show two things, such as a cat and a dog, and students race to say a true sentence with one pair: Both the cat and the dog have tails. Neither the cat nor the dog can fly. The open boxes in A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai add personal prompts, such as a terrible vacation: It was neither … nor …
What's good homework for both, either and neither?
Good homework joins two short sentences into one: I don't drink coffee, and I don't drink tea becomes I drink neither coffee nor tea. Add a choice of pairs, word order and a sort of right and wrong sentences. All ten homework tasks in A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai check themselves, ending with a museum label for Woodhenge and Jade's answer to a listener.
How do you practice either… or and neither… nor one-to-one?
Plan a real weekend with the student: On Saturday, I'll either clean or go hiking; then ask about two things they dislike, for neither… nor. The chat in A calendar made of posts? on edio.ai needs no partner: Mallory, a friend, compares theories about Woodhenge with the student, and the right replies include We know neither its real name nor why people left.
Are there interactive exercises for either… or and neither… nor?
Yes: gap-fills and a chat that mark every reply. Without an account, this page plays three parts of A calendar made of posts?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Jade and Byron's talk at Woodhenge, a gap-fill that joins two ideas with the right pair, and the chat with Mallory about the theories. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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