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 form | Negative 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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