Talk:both

In Hebrew, the determiner "both" is not a single word. It is constructed by the combination of (1)determinative form of the word "two" שני/שתי (shnei/shtei - m/f) with (2)a suffix, which also vary according to the sex and the person of the subject: -nu, -khem/-khen, -hem/-hen).

("Two" - shnaim/shtaim m/f) Liso 19:05, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

expression "both... and..."
Should this expression be a separate sense? Anatoli 23:33, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

the car is both of yours/ours
How should the possessive structure "the car is both of yours/ours" be added? --Backinstadiums (talk) 11:51, 13 November 2019 (UTC)
 * I think they should be separate entries. Their meanings can’t be derived from both and yours (or ours). — T AKASUGI Shinji (talk) 03:52, 15 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Articles created:, . — T AKASUGI Shinji (talk) 10:34, 17 November 2019 (UTC)
 * That which belongs to both of you does not cover It’s both of their second marriage(s) --Backinstadiums (talk) 12:25, 18 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Both of theirs is also possible. ("What had happened was not only Amber's fault but both of theirs.") Equinox ◑ 15:43, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

the both of you
What meaning is used in phrases such as "the both of you"? isn't both here a noun? --Backinstadiums (talk) 10:50, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

both their responsibility/responsibilities
In terms of possession, of + both is clearer, as in the parents of both, the responsibility of both, as opposed to both their parents and both their responsibility or both their responsibilities. Microsoft® Encarta® 2009

What PoS is used in both their responsibility/responsibilities'''? --Backinstadiums (talk) 10:59, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

"my both hands"
I heard a young girl in an old movie saying this and it looks like it was used in an early version of the children's rhyme Hokey Pokey (or is it Looby Loo?) as well:
 * I put my both hands in / I put my both hands out / I give my both hands shake, shake, shake / and turn myself about.

Possibly this was once the commonest word order and it fell out of favor. I suspect we could put up a fair argument that the old order is still grammatical, but just archaic. But I see what looks like English learners using the "wrong" word order when I search google for the unadorned "my both hands", leading me to believe this may be a common mistake among students learning English as a second language. Hence I want to put a usage note on our page. — Soap — 21:58, 7 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I don't know if this example supports your archaic theory, but it's worth a note if you find more. (As for common English learner mistakes, I'm not sure those are ever worth noting.) I think this case is just matching the syllable count of the typical "you put your left/right X in". Maybe this awkward construction is why we only ever put one body part (or "your whole self") in. Ultimateria (talk) 22:08, 7 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Yeah. I mean, they could have said "I put my two hands in", but on the other hand (lol), children's songs aren't always grammatical .... the Bingo song has begun with "there was a farmer had a dog" for as long as it's been famous and nobody seems to want to change it.  But what matters most, I think, is that I found a book from Oxford University Press, apparently from 1875, explicitly stating the rule that the word both must come between the head noun and its modifier.  So if the alternate construction was ever permissible, it was out of fashion already 150 years ago.  Perhaps it's best to just state the correct word order and leave it at that .... anyone who's curious will likely find out more on their own.  — Soap — 23:27, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

Both is inappropriate where the verb does not apply to each of the entities by itself.
Both indicates that the action or state denoted by the verb applies individually to each of two entities. Both books weigh more than five pounds, for example, means that each book weighs more than five pounds by itself, not that the two books weighed together come to more than five pounds. --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:39, 21 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Therefore, is both their three cars ambiguous with the meaning "each owns three cars, six cars in total"? What about the three cars of both('s?) or both's three cars? --Backinstadiums (talk) 22:10, 2 August 2021 (UTC)