Neither/nor

Ni works like 'neither' in English. It is used to make link between groups of words which have a negative value. The opposite (affirmative) meaning is et (and). We can use ni to join adjectives, nouns and verbs.

Affirmative formNegative form
Tu aimes le chocolat et le café ?
Do you like chocolate and coffee?
Muriel peut nager et courir.
Muriel can swim and run.
Victor est riche et célèbre.
Victor is rich and famous.
Non, je n’aime ni le chocolat ni le café.
No, I like neither chocolate nor coffee.
Muriel ne peut ni nager ni courir.
Muriel can neither swim nor run.
Victor n’est ni riche ni célèbre.
Victor is neither rich nor famous.

In general, we use the ne...ni...ni combination. The less formal combination is ne...pas...ni.

NE / NI / NI NE / PAS / NI
Je n’aime ni le sport ni la musique.
I like neither sport nor music.
Nous n'avons vu ni Gérard ni Victor.
We saw neither Gérard nor Victor.
Je n’aime pas le sport, ni la musique.
I don't like sport or music.
Nous n'avons pas vu Gérard, ni Victor.
We didn't see Gérard or Victor.
Ni can be repeated as many times as we wish. After 3 times, it's best to use commas.
Je n’aime ni les chiens, ni les chats, ni les poissons, ni les canards ! I like neither dogs, nor cats, nor fish, nor ducks!

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