"They were not all/all of them/either/either of them a teacher or an engineer.
Which one is correct?
Are you describing a group of people that included teachers, engineers, and people of other professions? None of those suggestiosn sounds right. You could say “They were not all teachers or engineers.”
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello, Biro:
If you were referring to two persons, the following would sound correct to me:
“They were not either of them a teacher or an engineer.”
I think (that) that sentence is, however, too elegant for everyday speech.
I should imagine that it would be more natural to say something like:
“Neither of them was a teacher or an engineer.”
James
P.S. #1: I confess that the elegant version has a nice ring (sound) that I like.
P.S. #2: And in speech, there would be a pause before and after “either of them.”
P.S. #3: In writing, I think that commas might be needed:
“They were not a teacher or an engineer.”
“They were not, either of them, a teacher or an engineer.”
a. “Either of them” seems to be in apposition with “they.”
i. They (either of them) were not a teacher or an engineer.
The sentence is not ‘too elegant for everyday speech’. The sentence is ambiguous and needs clarification, as indicated by Dozy.