Né… né… (Neither… nor…)
Né (neither, nor) is the opposite of e (and). We use it in negative sentences to join adjectives, nouns or verbs.
| AFFIRMATIVE FORM | NEGATIVE FORM |
|---|---|
| Ti piacciono il cioccolato e il caffè. You like chocolate and coffee. Ruggero sa nuotare e correre bene. Ruggero can swim and run well. Betty è ricca e famosa. Betty is rich and famous. | Non ti piacciono né il cioccolato né il caffè. You like neither chocolate nor coffee. Ruggero non sa (né) nuotare né correre bene. Ruggero can neither swim nor run well. Betty non è né ricca né famosa. Betty is neither rich nor famous. |
The most commonly used structure is non… né… né (not… or… / neither… nor…)
Non mi piace né lo sport né la musica.
I do not like sport or music.
Magda non è né gentile né professionale.
Magda is neither kind nor professional.
The first né is often omitted when joining two verbs: non...né
Non vuole (né) parlare né ascoltare.
He doesn't want to speak or listen.
Non l’ha mai (né) detto né scritto.
She never said it or wrote it.
The non...e nemmeno/neanche/neppure structure has the same meaning but is more formal.
Non mi piace lo sport e nemmeno/neanche/neppure la musica.
I do not like sport or music / I like neither sport nor music.
Magda non è gentile e nemmeno/neanche/neppure professionale.
Magda is not kind or professional / Magda is neither kind nor professional.
Notes:
- You can repeat né as many times as you like, inserting a comma between the various elements you are listing if there are three or more of them.
Non voglio né pulire, né cucinare, né stirare!
I don't want to clean, or cook, or iron!
- The negation né always has an accent to avoid confusing it with the pronoun ne (of it, about it).
Ne abbiamo parlato ieri ➝ Non ne abbiamo parlato né ieri né oggi.
We spoke about it yesterday ➝ We didn't speak about it yesterday or today.
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