Doubt (3)

Thank you so much, Alice. Always clear and to the point :)

I've never heard anyone use "I don't like either A or B" to mean that they only like one or the other, unless they're saying something like "I know I don't like either A or B, but I can't remember which is which".
If you simply say "I don't like either A or B" it means "I don't like either of them".
"I don't like either dogs or cats" = "I don't like dogs and I don't like cats either". It does not mean "I either don't like dogs or I don't like cats". Even if it technically means that grammatically, it does not mean that the way people use it.

With all due respect, I did not follow that explanation above at all.

Anyway, I would simply say "I don't like A or B."

I don't like dogs or cats.
I don't like spinach or asparagus.

I find the addition of "either" to be unnecessary.

I don't feel that "nor" is used very often, to be honest.

The construction "I like neither" sounds extremely odd to me. Very literary-- you won't ever hear it, at least per my experience.

Thanks the three of you for taking the time to read my entry :)

In short, "I don't like A or B." in everyday speech. "I like neither A nor B." in class.

My Spanish is hardly perfect, so I probably made a mistake.

@Ceaer - You got the concept for both. It's "I don't like either A or B." when it's unknown which is liked. Same for the second point you brought up. My point was to show that technically it does not distinguish grammatically which one is liked. So, without any other context, we don't know.

@Floury - You're right about what is most often used. People will nearly always say "I don't like A or B" to mean both are disliked. But it's supposed to have a "nor" instead of "or." Personally, I do still use "nor;" Maybe it's just a matter of region.

Depends on when and where you're saying/writing these. I know my professors would call me out. Anywhere else I don't think most would think twice about saying "I don't like A or B."

P.S. "I either like A or B." Thoughts?

To my non-native ears, in your sentence, "either" no longer modifies "A or B", but it modifies "like"...

"I either like A or B", to me, means you like one of the two but not both. It's a very weird thing to say by itself though. It sounds like it's part of a riddle.

And my point of view on the "I don't like either A or B" vs "I don't like A or B"-- I think the latter is more common in unprompted statements, but if someone has given you an option you would include the word "either".

For example, if you were discussing pets with someone, you might say, unprompted, "I don't have any pets, I don't like dogs or cats". But if someone asks you "Would you rather have a dog or a cat?" you would likely answer "I don't want either/I don't like either of them/I don't like either cats or dogs/I don't want either a cat or a dog".

That's a good explanation, ceaer! I agree.

I admit, this discussion is making my head spin! I can no longer look at this objectively :p

I still maintain that "I like neither" is rarely used, though, and sounds very literary.

Floury, this discussion is making the same to my head :P It's like any combination sounds okay to me now... :P

Daniel, as long as there isn't a double negative, any combination IS okay. It's confusing because there are so many ways to say the same thing! But they are all, in the end, the same thing :)