Neither ...... nor

Neither ...... nor

Neither...nor are co-relating conjunctions that join two words, phrases or clauses belonging to the same parts of speech.

E.g.

He neither reads nor writes Spanish, yet he is in Spain.

Or, Mother enjoys neither watching TV nor reading fiction during her spare time.

Also, when two subjects are joined by `neither...nor’, the verb must agree with the second subject-

E.g.

Neither Manoj nor his sister has learnt to play the piano.

Or, Neither Manoj nor his brothers have learnt to play the piano.

Test your understanding - Choose the correct sentence from the pair of sentences given below.

1
a. He was neither able to be a good guitarist nor a good singer.

b. He neither was able to be a good guitarist nor a good singer.

View Answer / Hide Answer

2.
a. Neither Simon nor his friends want to go for the movie `Haider’.

b. Neither Simon nor his friends wants to go for the movie `Haider’.

View Answer / Hide Answer

3.
a. The band was playing neither western classical music nor Hollywood songs.

b. The band neither was playing western classic music nor Hollywood songs.

View Answer / Hide Answer

4.
a. I believe in neither ghosts nor supernatural phenomenon.

b. I neither believe in ghosts nor in supernatural phenomena.

View Answer / Hide Answer

5.
a.She was known neither for her brilliance nor for being sympathetic.

b. She was known neither for her brilliance nor for her sympathy.

View Answer / Hide Answer