What neither ... nor means
In a basic neither … nor pair, the statement applies to neither the first nor the second alternative. For example, Neither Ana nor Leo came means that Ana did not come and Leo did not come. Nor can be repeated in longer lists.
The pair itself expresses “not one and not the other”, so a sentence with neither ... nor does not need separate negation on the verb: these two words already convey it.
neither + alternative A + nor + alternative B
Neither the hotel nor the hostel had a room free for Friday night.
Neither the hotel nor the hostel had a room free for Friday night.
The two alternatives, the hotel and the hostel, form the subject; neither had an available room.
I like neither loud parties nor long meetings.
I like neither loud parties nor long meetings.
Both alternatives are noun phrases functioning as objects after the shared subject I and verb like.
Neither Liam nor his flatmate cooks during the week.
Neither Liam nor his flatmate cooks during the week.
The action is negated for both people: neither cooks on weekdays.
No extra negation
Neither is already a negative word: it means “not this one and not that one”. The verb after neither ... nor therefore stays in its ordinary affirmative form, without not, n't, don't, doesn't, or another negative.
For the ordinary meaning that neither person does something, standard English does not add another not: Neither of them likes it. Combining negatives can produce a different meaning or belong to a dialect; here we practise the simple standard pattern.
Neither the printer nor the scanner works properly today.
Neither the printer nor the scanner works properly today.
Works has its ordinary affirmative form, with no separate negative attached to the verb.
Neither Anna nor her sister was late for the meeting.
Neither Anna nor her sister was late for the meeting.
Was is affirmative in form; neither and nor carry all the negative meaning.
Neither Marco nor his brother can swim.
Neither Marco nor his brother can swim.
The modal can also stays affirmative; can't would add unnecessary negation for the intended meaning here.
Where neither and nor go
Neither goes directly before the first alternative, and nor before the second. If both alternatives form the sentence's subject, neither begins the sentence because that is where the first alternative starts.
If the subject or auxiliary is shared by both alternatives, neither follows the shared part and comes directly before the element that distinguishes the alternatives.
neither + alternative A + nor + alternative B (alternatives = two subjects or two smaller parallel parts of one sentence)
You can neither call nor text him after nine.
You can neither call nor text him after nine.
The subject you and auxiliary can are shared by both alternatives; neither follows them, before the first verb phrase.
Neither the manager nor her assistant answered the phone.
Neither the manager nor her assistant answered the phone.
The alternatives are the subjects themselves, the manager and her assistant, so neither begins the sentence.
The museum is neither open on Mondays nor free for children under six.
The museum is neither open on Mondays nor free for children under six.
The subject the museum and verb is are shared; neither comes before the first adjective phrase.
Parallel structure
It is clearest to join parallel elements that each fit the shared opening: I enjoy neither hiking nor swimming. Both -ing forms depend on enjoy.
A simple way to check parallelism is to mentally read each alternative separately with the shared part of the sentence and compare their grammatical forms.
The offer is neither generous nor realistic.
The offer is neither generous nor realistic.
Both alternatives are adjectives: generous and realistic.
She neither called the office nor sent an email.
She neither called the office nor sent an email.
Both alternatives are verb phrases in the same past-tense form.
We found neither a taxi nor a bus at that hour.
We found neither a taxi nor a bus at that hour.
Both alternatives are noun phrases with the indefinite article a.
Verb agreement when neither ... nor joins subjects
In learning contexts and formal writing, when neither … nor joins subjects of different numbers, agreeing the verb with the nearer subject is a useful guideline. Actual usage varies, so rephrase if necessary to avoid an awkward combination.
This is easy to check: mentally remove the first subject and see whether the verb naturally agrees with the remaining one.
neither + subject A + nor + subject B (nearer) + verb agreeing with subject B
- subject / S —
- The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
- verb / V —
- A word for an action or state, such as work or be. The pattern determines its form.
Neither the coach nor the players were happy with the result.
Neither the coach nor the players were happy with the result.
The nearer subject is the plural the players, so the verb were is plural too.
Neither the players nor the coach was happy with the result.
Neither the players nor the coach was happy with the result.
Now the nearer subject is the singular the coach, so the verb was is singular.
Neither ... nor and related constructions
Both … and emphasises both facts, either … or presents alternatives, and neither … nor negates the named alternatives. Choose according to the intended meaning.
These three constructions are easy to confuse precisely because they are grammatically similar: the correct choice depends on the meaning to convey, not simply the sentence structure.
Both the manager and her assistant confirmed the order.
Both the manager and her assistant confirmed the order.
Both ... and states that both actions actually occurred.
You can pay either by card or in cash.
You can pay either by card or in cash.
Either … or presents two available payment methods; whether they can be combined depends on the payment rules, not the conjunction itself.
The manager confirmed neither the order nor the delivery date.
The manager confirmed neither the order nor the delivery date.
Neither ... nor negates both facts at once, unlike the previous two examples.
When one neither ... nor sentence sounds more natural
Two separate negative sentences, or statements with not ... either, can naturally be combined into one neither ... nor sentence when both facts concern the same pair of alternatives. The meaning stays the same, but the sentence becomes more concise and slightly more formal in tone.
This can be useful in writing or a short message. Two separate sentences are also correct and sometimes easier to follow.
The plan saves neither time nor money.
The plan saves neither time nor money.
This is a more concise version of the same meaning as two separate sentences: The plan doesn't save time. It doesn't save money either.
Ivy has visited neither Rome nor Venice.
Ivy has visited neither Rome nor Venice.
This has the same meaning as Ivy hasn't visited Rome. She hasn't visited Venice either, but in one sentence.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Neither Tom nor his sister doesn't like broccoli.
Correct:Neither Tom nor his sister likes broccoli.
To say that neither person likes broccoli, use neither … nor and likes without doesn’t. Additional negation does not convey the intended meaning here.
Incorrect:Neither the fridge nor the oven isn't working.
Correct:Neither the fridge nor the oven is working.
To negate the operation of both appliances, neither … nor + is working is enough. Is agrees with the nearer subject the oven.
Incorrect:Neither the coach nor the players was happy.
Correct:Neither the coach nor the players were happy.
In this pattern, the nearer subject players is plural, so use were in instructional writing.
Incorrect:Marta enjoys neither hiking nor to swim.
Correct:Marta enjoys neither hiking nor swimming.
After enjoys, both named activities take an -ing form: hiking and swimming.
Incorrect:The shop is neither open today or open tomorrow.
Correct:The shop is neither open today nor open tomorrow.
To negate both alternatives, pair neither with nor, not or.
Incorrect:I neither want tea or coffee.
Correct:I want neither tea nor coffee.
The negative pair requires nor. I want neither tea nor coffee clearly joins tea and coffee after the shared want.