either

either
either
A pron
1 (one or other) l'un/l'une ou l'autre ; you can take either (of them) tu peux prendre l'un ou l'autre ; I don't like either (of them) je n'aime ni l'un ni l'autre ; I don't believe either of you je ne vous crois ni l'un ni l'autre ; without either (of them) sans l'un ni l'autre ; there was no sound from either of the rooms aucun bruit ne provenait ni d'une chambre ni de l'autre ; either or both of you can do it l'un de vous peut le faire or vous pouvez le faire tous les deux ;
2 (both) either of the two is possible les deux sont possibles ; either would be difficult to repair les deux seraient aussi difficiles à réparer l'un que l'autre ; either of us could win nous avons tous les deux les mêmes chances de gagner ; ‘which book do you want?’-‘either’ ‘quel livre veux- tu?’-‘l'un ou l'autre’.
B det
1 (one or the other) n'importe lequel/laquelle ; you can take either road tu peux prendre n'importe laquelle des deux routes ; either one will do n'importe lequel fera l'affaire ; (in the negative) I can't see either child je ne vois aucun des deux enfants ;
2 (both) either one of the solutions is acceptable les deux solutions sont acceptables ; in either case dans les deux cas ; at either side of the street des deux côtés de la rue ; at either side of the fire de part et d'autre de la cheminée ; in either hand dans chaque main ; either way, you win vous gagnez dans les deux cas ; either way, it will be difficult de toute manière, ce sera difficile ; I don't care either way ça m'est égal ; I don't have strong views either way je ne suis ni pour ni contre ; either way, you can't confirm it de toute manière, vous ne pouvez pas le confirmer.
C adv non plus ; I can't do it either je ne peux pas le faire non plus ; there's no answer to that question either il n'y a pas de réponse à cette question non plus ; not only was it expensive, but it didn't work either non seulement c'était cher, mais en plus ça ne marchait pas.
D conj
1 (as alternatives) I was expecting him either Tuesday or Wednesday je l'attendais soit mardi, soit mercredi, je l'attendais (ou) mardi ou mercredi ; you either love him or hate him soit on l'adore, soit on le déteste, on l'adore ou on le déteste ; either by cheating or by lying soit en trichant soit en mentant, (ou) en trichant ou en mentant ; it's either him or me c'est lui ou moi ; available in either pink or blue disponible en rose ou en bleu ; I confessed, it was either that or be tortured j'ai avoué, c'était ça ou la torture ;
2 (in the negative) I wouldn't reward either Patrick or Emily je ne donnerais de récompense ni à Patrick ni à Emily ; you're not being either truthful or fair tu n'es ni honnête ni juste ;
3 (as an ultimatum) either you finish your work or you will be punished! ou tu finis ton travail ou je te punis! ; put the gun down, either that or I call the police pose ton arme sinon j'appelle la police.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.

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