He has two bicycles, either of them from his dad.

[neb090]

1.He has two bicycles, either of them from his dad.
2. He has two bicycles, one of them from his dad.

I made the two sentences by myself, do they have the same meaning?

 

[5jj]

The first doesn't work. The second is OK.

 

[neb090]

The first doesn't work. The second is OK.

So How could I use "either of them" in a sentence?

 

[5jj]

You have things the wrong way round. We use expressions to express our meaning, not meaning to use expressions.

 

[jutfrank]

A wife asks her husband for his opinion on what she should wear:

Wife: Do you like the red dress or the black dress?
Husband: I don't like either of them.

Logically, this means 'I don't like the red dress and I don't like the black dress'.

 

[Tarheel]

Either.

Al: Do you want coffee or tea?
Bob: Either one.

 

[Tarheel]

A wife asks her husband for his opinion on what she should wear:

Wife: Do you like the red dress or the black dress?
Husband: I don't like either of them.

Logically, this means 'I don't like the red dress and I don't like the black dress'.

You could also say, "I don't like the black dress or the red dress."

 

[neb090]

A wife asks her husband for his opinion on what she should wear:

Wife: Do you like the red dress or the black dress?
Husband: I don't like either of them.

Logically, this means 'I don't like the red dress and I don't like the black dress'.

Can either be used in positive sentence?

 

[5jj]

Can "either" be used in positive sentences?

Yes.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

Can either be used in positive sentence?

There are two bikes in the shop. His dad said he can have either of them for his birthday.

"Which shirt should I wear tonight? The red or the blue?"
"Either of them would be fine."

We have either tea or coffee. What would you like?

 

[Tarheel]

There are two bikes in the shop. His dad said he can have either of them for his birthday.

"Which shirt should I wear tonight? The red or the blue?"
"Either of them would be fine."

We have either tea or coffee. What would you like?

The last one doesn't work.

 

[neb090]

There are two bikes in the shop. His dad said he can have either of them for his birthday.

"Which shirt should I wear tonight? The red or the blue?"
"Either of them would be fine."

We have either tea or coffee. What would you like?

There are two bikes in the shop. His dad said he can have one of them for his birthday.

Is that also correct?

 

[I'm With Stupid]

There are two bikes in the shop. His dad said he can have one of them for his birthday.

Is that also correct?

Yes.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

The last one doesn't work.

Yeah, you're right. It's something I'd definitely say though.

For the record, if you ever want to know how a particular word is used neb090, Skell is your friend. Type it in and it'll give you real-world examples.

If you type 'either' in, one thing you might notice is how often if appears at the end of a sentence.

 

[neb090]

I checked the dictionary and it says either means “one or the other.”

This year, Johnny got two bikes as his birthday gifts. So,

He has two bikes (bike A and bike B), either of them (bike A) from his dad. （And bike B might from his mom.）

Is that right?

 

[emsr2d2]

It does mean what you said but it doesn't work in your sentence without some additional words.

He got two bikes for his birthday. Either of them could have been from his dad. (The other one was from his mum.)

 

[jutfrank]

(For context, this answer is taken and adapted from a private conversation. I know what neb090 is trying to say from previous messages.)

Here are some positive sentences using the phrase 'either of them':

1. "I can lend you either of them, whichever you prefer."
2. "You can choose either of them; both options are equally good."
3. "She could invite either of them to the event, but she hasn't decided yet."
4. "I'll accept either of them as payment for the services rendered."
5. "You're welcome to borrow either of them from the shelf."
6. "I don't have a preference; you can choose either of them."

As you can hopefully see from these examples, the phrase 'either of them' in each case means something like 'it doesn't matter which'.

If you say Johnny has two bikes, it doesn't matter which was from his dad, I really hope you can see how that is not what you mean and in fact makes no sense. What you mean is that of the two bikes, one was from his dad and one wasn't.

 

[Phlebas the Phoenician]

I checked the dictionary and it says either means “one or the other.”

This year, Johnny got two bikes as his birthday gifts. So,

He has two bikes (bike A and bike B), either of them (bike A) from his dad. （And bike B might from his mom.）

Is that right?

You could use "either of them" in the related question:

A: Johnny has two bikes.
B: Is either of them from his dad?

However, the affirmative answer is not: "Yes, either of them is from his dad." Rather, it is: "Yes, one of them is from his dad."

Similarly, you cannot say: "He has two bikes. Either of them is from his dad." The continuation should begin with "one of them," not "either of them."

 

[teechar]

I wonder if the word "each" is what you're looking for.
He has two bikes, each (of them) from his dad.

Or perhaps you're after the word "both".
He has two bikes, both (of them) from his dad.

 

[emsr2d2]

I wonder if the word "each" is what you're looking for.
He has two bikes, each (of them) from his dad.

Or perhaps you're after the word "both".
He has two bikes, both (of them) from his dad.

Except that in post #15, the OP said that only bike A was from his dad.